Hampton Junior College, located in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

, opened its doors in 1958. It was one of eleven black community colleges which were founded, at the urging of the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

, to show that a " Separate but equal" educational system for blacks existed in Florida; the Legislature wished to avoid the integration mandated by the Supreme Court's '' Brown v. Board of Education'' decision of 1954. At the time, the closest public college that would accept negroes was

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

, 175 miles away. It operated under the direction of the Marion County Board of Public Instruction, with support from adjacent

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

and Levy counties. Three representatives from each county made up the college's advisory committee. Its original name, Howard Junior College, was changed during its first year of operation in honor of L. R. Hampton Sr., a local dentist who had advanced black education in Marion County. It began operations using the facilities of the black Howard High School (today Howard Middle School), which meant classes had to be held in the late afternoon and evening. In 1960-61 its own facilities were completed. They consisted of a classroom building, a library shared with the high school, an industrial building, and an administrative building which housed faculty offices and the student lounge. The only president of the college was its founding one, William H. Jackson. Like most of the black community college presidents he was principal of a high school, in this case Howard High School, on whose campus the junior college was located. However, in contrast with most of the other principal/presidents, in 1961 he became full-time president of the college. Its peak enrollment, in the 1964–65 school year, was 890. A total of 3,905 students studied there during its eight years of operation. 317 graduated. In 1966 the institution was merged with Central Florida Junior College, today the

College of Central Florida The College of Central Florida (CF) is a public college with campuses in Marion, Citrus, and Levy counties. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1957 as Central Florida Junior College, CF has grown to span three counties and inc ...

, which was also founded in 1958. It was the last of Florida's twelve black junior colleges to be merged. Of the 778 students during its final year, 207 enrolled at Central Florida Junior College. 10 of the 19 regular faculty members transferred to Central Florida.Smith, pp. 57 and 75.

References

{{authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1958 Educational institutions disestablished in 1966 Education in Marion County, Florida Education in Citrus County, Florida Education in Levy County, Florida Ocala, Florida Florida's black junior colleges Buildings and structures in Marion County, Florida 1958 establishments in Florida

See also

References