About
The Sledd Society: University of Florida Alumni for Social Responsibility is an independent association of UF alumni dedicated to promoting social responsibility at UF.
The Sledd Society is named for Dr. Andrew Sledd, first president of the University of Florida. Prior to coming to UF in 1904, Sledd had served as a professor at Emory College in Georgia. After witnessing the torture and lynching of a black man, Sledd published an essay condemning racial violence; in the ensuing controversy, he was forced to resign from his position at Emory.
I undertook to set down my conclusions in the matter, declaring the truth as I saw the truth, feeling I had a message of righteousness that I could no longer refuse to utter … And so I wrote.
—Andrew Sledd
All UF alumni are welcome to join the Sledd Society. Others with a connection to UF, such as students’ parents, may also join.
To join, subscribe to our mailing list. Simply enter your email address below. We will not send more than one or two emails each month, and we will not share your address with anyone.
You will receive an email with a password. Use that password to confirm the subscription (on the page after you click “Subscribe”).
Who started the Sledd Society?
The Sledd Society was founded by Gavin Baker (BA ‘07). You may contact Gavin at grbaker@alumni.ufl.edu.
When was the Sledd Society founded?
The Sledd Society was founded in April 2008.
What does the Sledd Society do?
The Sledd Society is dedicated to promoting social responsibility at UF. Our goal is to add an alumni voice to discussions of university policy, encouraging UF to make decisions which live up to its responsibility to society. We also seek to recognize the contributions of the UF community to social responsibility.
We’re just getting started. If you’d like to be involved, please contact Gavin Baker at grbaker@alumni.ufl.edu.
How can I get involved with the Sledd Society?
Please contact Gavin Baker at grbaker@alumni.ufl.edu for more information.
Can I be a member of both the Sledd Society and the UF Alumni Association?
Yes. The Sledd Society does not seek to replace or duplicate the functions of, and is not affiliated with, the UF Alumni Association. You may be a member of either or both groups.
Where can I learn more about Andrew Sledd?
A profile of Sledd is available from the UF Office of the President. For more on Sledd’s impact and views, see Terry L. Matthews, “The Voice of a Prophet: Andrew Sledd Revisited,” Journal of Southern Religion, December 2003.
Perhaps the defining moment for Sledd came when he observed the lynching of Sam Hose. Sledd witnessed this event when the train he was riding stopped to allow passengers to watch. It was bad enough that another train soon arrived from a nearby town carrying people eager to see this spectacle, but Sledd was sickened as he watched the crowd burn and mutilate the body after it had been lynched, and then hawk pieces for souvenirs. Moved to write a article condemning such abuses, he submitted it to the Atlantic Monthly. In this piece, ["The Negro: Another View," (July 1902)], Sledd rejected the practice of lynching because it violated the negro’s rights which were both divine and civil in nature. While allowing that the Negro was presently inferior to whites, went on to violate the reigning orthodoxy once more by suggesting that this inferiority was the result of slavery and segregation, and could be erased through affirmative measures. For this, Sledd was called a traitor to his race, and eventually he was forced from his position as a teacher of classics at Emory. Fearful of the impact on the college’s patronage, the Emory administration forced his resignation.
—Terry Matthews, The Social Gospel (part II), lecture, Religious Life in the United States, Wake Forest University, 1995
Disclaimer
The Sledd Society is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Florida, the UF Alumni Association, or the Sledd family.