Since racial integration in schools was prohibited in the Florida Constitution of 1885 then in effect, the Legislature wished to avoid the integration mandated in the unanimous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954 by demonstrating that a "separate but equal" higher education system existed in Florida for African Americans.
During the first year the college functioned in the late afternoon and evening, using the high school facilities.
These institutions were very important for a generation of black Floridians whose access to higher education was limited because of segregation and economic hurdles.
Established in 1959, Suwannee River Junior College (SRJC) provided the black residents of north Florida and south Georgia with post-secondary level educational and cultural enrichment opportunities.
Jenyethel Merritt, a fixture in the local educational establishment, served as president of SRJC for five of the college's seven years.
An exhibit of SRCC yearbooks (the Alligator) and other memorabilia was opened in the college library; plaques from SRJC were installed at various places on campus and students challenged to find them; nominations were sought for a Jenyethel Merritt Award for Civic Service; and plans were made to celebrate a reunion.