HEBRON — In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Hebron Academy community gathered recently to hear alumnus Judge Samuel Stafford speak about his time as one of only a few students of color at Hebron in the 1960s.

Stafford described his arrival the academy in 1964 as a young freshman from Florida — and, at that time, the only black student — as “quite a feat. Imagine how young I was, [arriving from] an atmosphere on the tail end of the imposition of Jim Crow laws and customs.”

Educated in a log cabin elementary school, using second-hand books, Stafford said that there was “little resentment about this, but there was a great zeal and drive instilled in you by your parents, teachers and the segregated community to be successful” through hard work.

Stafford’s hard work eventually took him to Florida State University, where he majored in comparative religions and the classics, with the intent of becoming a theologian. He later attended Duke University Law School and was selected in 1998 to join the Florida Eighth District Court as a circuit judge.

Today, in addition to his judicial duties, Stafford also serves as a lecturer in the political science department at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and teaches at the University of Florida Levin School of Law.

Stafford told students that it was “not a coincidence that I came to Hebron, that [the experience I had] helped to shape what I do now, and what I hope you will do, that you will be of service to humankind, no matter where you end up.” He described the events of 1964-68 as “bookends of my life: in 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1968, a few months before my graduation, he was assassinated.”

Asked for his impressions of what remains the same about Hebron, and what has changed, Stafford noted that while the faculty personnel and the physical plant have changed, the lessons of the academy remain the same.

“What Hebron gave to me, and gives to you all, continues to be individual excellence, personal responsibility and integrity and a supportive service-oriented community life. These are qualities that you should take with you long after you leave Hebron.”