"Lift Every Voice and Sing" was publicly performed first as a poem as part of a celebration of Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 by 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1983, Barrington Irving spent his childhood in inner-city Miami, where he and his friends found little opportunity or incentive to get off the dangerous streets and pursue a professional career.
From the humble beginnings of the Florida Baptist Institute at Live Oak and the Florida Baptist Academy at Jacksonville came these Founders, whose vision and insight led to where we stand
now as crusaders for and promoters of Christian principles, academic excellence, and service to humanity.
Rev. J.N. Stokes, Sr., who offered a resolution in 1871 to the Florida Bethlehem Baptist Association calling for the solicitation of funds to draw up plans for the formation of a college for the instruction of ministers and young people. The resolution was unanimously adopted.
Rev. Dr. J.L. Fish, who served as the president of the newly formed Florida Baptist Institute in 1879.
Rev. Dr. Matthew Gilbert, who founded the Florida Baptist Academy at Jacksonville, Florida in 1892.
Miss Sarah A. Blocker, who was an instructor at the Live Oak campus and the chief assistant to Rev. Dr. Matthew Gilbert in establishing the Florida Baptist Academy at Jacksonville, Florida.
The University was established by, and remains closely affiliated with, the Baptist Church. However, our motto, “Leadership, Character, and Service,” emphasizes Christian values. Strong moral character, mutual respect, freedom of worship, and a commitment to serve are the hallmarks of what it means to be a Florida Memorial Lion.
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ACCREDITATION: Florida Memorial University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools to award baccalaureates and master’s degrees. The University is also chartered by the State of Florida.
