43 min
Activism @ Amherst Black Women of Amherst College
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- Personal Journals
Protest is in the DNA of Amherst College, and Black women have often led the charge to effect change on campus. The 1979 takeover of Converse Hall Thastened the College’s divestment from apartheid-era South Africa; an unlikely protest held in Charles Drew House during the 1990s resulted in improved resources for STEM students; and the Black Lives Matter-inspired Amherst Uprising of 2015 helped seal the fate of “Lord Jeff” Amherst, the now-former unofficial school mascot named for the controversial mid-18th century commander of British colonial forces in North America..
Host: Nichelle S. Carr ’98
Discussion topics:
Black women and the undue burden of reforming institutions
Timeline of the 1979 takeover of Converse Hall in response to a campus cross-burning, also demanding divestment from South Africa and the continuation of Black freshman orientation
The two-day takeover of Converse in 1992 protesting the lack of faculty diversity
How young Black women tackled a larger STEM problem at Amherst
The Forum on Academic Concerns of Black Students: a different kind of protest
The Being Human in STEM initiative
The genesis and impact of the 2015 Amherst Uprising
Continuing the conversation online: @BlackAmherstSpeaks
Featured interviews (in order of appearance):
The Hon. Denise Francois ’80
Sheila Maddox ’80
Dr. Susan Prattis ’80
Dr. Kellie Jones ’81
Leanne Shelton ’80M.
Cyndy Jean ’07
Amani Brown Legagneur ’97
Ashaki Brown ’97
Onawumi Jean Moss, former associate dean of students (1985-2006)
Katyana Dandridge ’18
Kyndall Ashe ’18
Protest is in the DNA of Amherst College, and Black women have often led the charge to effect change on campus. The 1979 takeover of Converse Hall Thastened the College’s divestment from apartheid-era South Africa; an unlikely protest held in Charles Drew House during the 1990s resulted in improved resources for STEM students; and the Black Lives Matter-inspired Amherst Uprising of 2015 helped seal the fate of “Lord Jeff” Amherst, the now-former unofficial school mascot named for the controversial mid-18th century commander of British colonial forces in North America..
Host: Nichelle S. Carr ’98
Discussion topics:
Black women and the undue burden of reforming institutions
Timeline of the 1979 takeover of Converse Hall in response to a campus cross-burning, also demanding divestment from South Africa and the continuation of Black freshman orientation
The two-day takeover of Converse in 1992 protesting the lack of faculty diversity
How young Black women tackled a larger STEM problem at Amherst
The Forum on Academic Concerns of Black Students: a different kind of protest
The Being Human in STEM initiative
The genesis and impact of the 2015 Amherst Uprising
Continuing the conversation online: @BlackAmherstSpeaks
Featured interviews (in order of appearance):
The Hon. Denise Francois ’80
Sheila Maddox ’80
Dr. Susan Prattis ’80
Dr. Kellie Jones ’81
Leanne Shelton ’80M.
Cyndy Jean ’07
Amani Brown Legagneur ’97
Ashaki Brown ’97
Onawumi Jean Moss, former associate dean of students (1985-2006)
Katyana Dandridge ’18
Kyndall Ashe ’18
43 min