[Black] 4 H Club boys selling sweet potato plants, Jefferson County, Florida (Photograph S-18360)
AFRICAN AMERICAN AGRICULTURE EXTENSION AGENTS IN FLORIDA Exhibit Object List
In Florida, two Cooperative Extension Services were created – one at the University of Florida and a second at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). FAMU was one of the earliest Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). It was established in 1890 by the second Morrill Act to serve the African American community. Today UF and FAMU Cooperative Extension Service collaborate to meet the agricultural needs of Florida’s diverse farming communities. The second Morrill Act of 1890 addressed racial inequality by establishing 17 new land grant colleges to serve the higher education needs of the African American population in the south. This exhibit celebrates the contribution made by African American extension agents throughout Florida.
A. A. Turner was the first African American Extension Agent in Florida. He supervised farm and home demonstration agents from 1917-1929. In one year he reported traveling over 13,101 miles to make over 650 field visits. Turner was a great inspiration to the youth and established the precursor to 4-H Clubs in the African American community. Thomas M. Campbell was the first African American Cooperative Demonstration Agent supported through Tuskegee Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and General Education Board.
Florida Home Extension Agents - [Black], A.A. Turner third from left

[Black] Extension Agents and club members: C.W. Lindsey, H.H. Williams, J.W. Keller, Mrs. Jennings, A.A. Turner, S.L. Turner, D.H. Finlayson, O.L. Smith, C.T. Evans, Althea Ayer, M.A. Caldwell, R.C. Gilmore, H.S. Jackson, W.B. Young, Idella Kelley, J.W. Bowles, M.E. Groover, Wm. P. Stockton, L.F.A., J.E. Granberry, E.S. Belvin, James Williams, c. 1920

Negro Extension and Home Demonstration Agents, 1929
[Black] Farmers with Pigs Chas Murrell… [and family] has 100 N.H. Reds hens which lay eggs to be hatched into fryers and broilers. Blood tested, Duval County, Florida (Photograph S-6824), 1940

Canning Center at the Black Y.W.C.A. in Jacksonville, Florida

Ethel Powell, Duval County Extension Agent, offered awards to encourage use of the county canning center. Four months after opening in 1943, 4,484 containers of fruits and vegetables from victory gardens were canned.

“… historically black colleges and universities are ideally suited to deliver 'excellence with care' to the people who need it most.” -- F. S. Humphries, President, Florida A&M University
M. E. Groover instructing club boys in machinery, Jefferson County, Florida
[Black] 4-H Club girls learning dressmaking under direction of [Black] Home Demonstration Agent at Rochelle, Florida (Photograph S-18396)
 This online exhibit is based on the exhibit of the same name that was presented University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, April 22 - June 3, 2016. All items are from the University Archives, Special & Area Studies Collections, University of Florida unless noted otherwise. Curated by Melody Royster with assistance from Peggy McBride | Online design by Elizabeth A. Bouton