Sarah Ann Blocker
{{Short description|American educator (1857–1944)}}
Sarah Ann Blocker (October 27, 1857 – April 15, 1944) was an American educator and co-founder of Florida Memorial College. She was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 2003.
Early life
Blocker earned her teaching certificate in Atlanta in 1883.Michael Reed, [http://staugustine.com/stories/111803/new_1940792.shtml#.WKZhHBBZJXk "Sarah Ann Blocker Inducted into State's Women's Hall of Fame"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217223332/http://staugustine.com/stories/111803/new_1940792.shtml#.WKZhHBBZJXk |date=2017-02-17 }} St. Augustine Record (November 18, 2003).
Career
Blocker taught at Florida Baptist Academy from 1892,Florida Memorial University, [http://www.fmuniv.edu/about/our-history/ Our History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911055744/http://www.fmuniv.edu/about/our-history/ |date=2014-09-11 }}. and was head of the normal department there.John William Gibson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AXJDAQAAMAAJ&dq=Colored+Women&pg=PA122-IA1 The Colored American from Slavery to Honorable Citizenship] (J. L. Nichols 1903): 122. Blocker is credited with co-founding Florida Memorial College by arranging the merger of Florida Baptist Institute and Florida Baptist Academy, to form the Florida Memorial and Industrial Memorial Institute.Carole Elizabeth Boyce Davies, ed., [https://books.google.com/books?id=nkVxNVvex-sC&dq=Sarah+A.+Blocker&pg=PA446 Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora] (ABC-CLIO, 2008): 446. {{ISBN|9781851097050}} Blocker was Dean of Women at the Institute by 1935.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8992718/florida_normal_and_industrial_memorial/ "Florida Normal Retains High Rating by Southern Association"] Pittsburgh Courier (January 12, 1935): 2. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} One of her students at Florida Baptist Academy was philanthropist Eartha M. M. White.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8992842/founders_honored_at_florida_normal/ "Founders Honored at Florida Normal"] News Tribune (June 2, 1957): 14. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} Another was author Zora Neale Hurston.
Personal life and legacy
Sarah Ann Blocker died in 1944, aged 86 years. In 2003, Sarah Ann Blocker was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame by Governor Jeb Bush. The following year, she received a posthumous honorary doctorate as part of the 125th-anniversary celebration at Florida Memorial University.Florida Commission on the Status of Women, [http://fcsw.net/dt_team/sarah-ann-blocker/ Sarah Ann Blocker] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122210423/http://fcsw.net/dt_team/sarah-ann-blocker/ |date=2016-01-22 }}. There is a Sarah A. Blocker Meritorious Service Award given annually by Florida Memorial University.Florida Memorial University, [http://www.fmuniv.edu/life-at-fmu/traditions/ Traditions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206054336/http://www.fmuniv.edu/life-at-fmu/traditions/ |date=2017-02-06 }}.
References
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{{Florida Women's Hall of Fame}}
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Category:19th-century American educators
Category:20th-century American educators
Category:Florida Memorial University
Category:Educators from Florida