Florida's first and longest-lasting junior college for African Americans (1949–1965).
Booker T. Washington Junior College was established in 1949 by the Escambia County school board as the first and longest-lasting junior college for African Americans in Florida. Named after the renowned Black intellectual Booker T. Washington, the college served as a critical pathway to higher education for African American students in northwest Florida, at a time when the only other options were historically Black institutions like Bethune-Cookman College, Edward Waters College, Florida A&M University, and Florida Memorial College. The college shared facilities and administration with Booker T. Washington High School.
The college's founding and only president and dean was Garrett T. Wiggins, who also served as principal of the affiliated high school. Wiggins was the only educator in northwest Florida with an earned doctorate and was described as 'the smartest man in Escambia County.' The institution's first graduating class in 1951 consisted of 23 students, and enrollment eventually peaked at 361 students.
In 1965, Booker T. Washington Junior College was closed in response to pressures for integration. While it is often stated that the college was merged with Pensacola Junior College (now Pensacola State College), historical records indicate it was actually closed rather than merged. Faculty members did not secure comparable positions, and Black student enrollment did not transfer en masse to Pensacola Junior College, where students encountered an indifferent reception at best.