Volusia County Community College, located at 875 Second Avenue in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

, opened its doors in 1958. It was one of twelve black

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

s founded in the late 1950s at the initiative 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 Cons ...

. Since racial integration in schools was prohibited in the

Florida Constitution of 1885 Florida's Constitution of 1885, its fifth, was drawn up by the Constitutional Convention of 1885. The convention was held from June 9, 1885 until August 3, 1885 in Tallahassee, Florida "for the purpose of reforming the "Carpetbag" Constitution of 1 ...

then in effect, the Legislature wished to avoid the integration mandated in the unanimous ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

'' Supreme Court decision of 1954 by demonstrating that a "

separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protecti ...

" higher education system existed in Florida for African Americans. Like the other new black junior colleges, it was located near a black high school, in this case Campbell High School (today Campbell Middle School) at 625 S. Keech Street. Besides

Volusia Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...

County, the school also served Flagler and

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

Counties. The only president of the college was J. Griffen Greene. According to him, "Volusia County Community College, since its inception, had geared its program for many Negro students who might not be able to meet the standards of a "White" junior college because of previous education under an "unequal" dual public system." When the college opened, it was in temporary storefront facilities at 875 2nd Avenue, while using the Campbell High School site for physical education and vocational-technical programs. The college had its own classroom building by 1960, at Lockhart and Loomis Streets, near Campbell. A library, band room, and physical education facility were added before the college was closed in 1965; vocational-technical programs remained at Campbell. There were also satellite centers, some in one-teacher Negro schools. At its peak the enrollment was 5,600, of which 494 were in the college program and 5,106 in the adult (

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

) and vocational-technical programs. After the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, the college was closed on very short notice in 1965, merging with the previously all-white Daytona Beach Junior College (today

Daytona State College Daytona State College (DSC) is a public college with its main campus in Daytona Beach, Florida. DSC also has 6 smaller regional campuses throughout Volusia and Flagler counties. It is part of the Florida College System. The college offers more ...

). A "Volusia Center", offering sophomore courses only and with the transportation system discontinued, remained operational during 1965-66. Black enrollment plummeted: 450 students made the transfer, but after a year, less than 100 remained. Students were faced with a "repulsive cloud" at the previously all-white school. Ten of the 16 full-time Black faculty members were transferred to Daytona Beach; President Greene was given a job but nothing to do, and he resigned.Smith, p. 146.

References

{{authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1958 Educational institutions disestablished in 1965 Universities and colleges in Volusia County, Florida Education in Flagler County, Florida Education in Seminole County, Florida Daytona State College Daytona Beach, Florida Two-year colleges in the United States Buildings and structures in Daytona Beach, Florida Florida's black junior colleges 1958 establishments in Florida

See also

References