Black Women of Amherst College

When Amherst College went coed in the mid-1970s, the first Black female students encountered a campus that was not designed, built or ready for them. Listen to the multidimensional story of the Black women of Amherst College — including alumnae, students, faculty and staff — from the first days of the Amherst community through today.

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 LeAnn 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

Biddy Martin, president of Amherst from 2011 to 2022, reflects on how the institution is working in earnest to become a more welcoming, equitable and inclusive place for marginalized students, one that tackles uncomfortable truths, celebrates triumphs and fully serves its next generations of Black women. Host: Nichelle S. Carr '98 In conversation with: Biddy Martin, former president of Amherst College Discussion topics: Race, race relations and the myth of a “post-racial” society The unique concerns of Black women at Amherst  Invisibility, hyper-visibility and “Black Girl Magic” The 2015 Amherst Uprising The tension faced by Black women on campus between academic growth and activism  The contributions of Dr. Anna Julia Cooper, Professor Sonia Sanchez and other unrecognized trailblazers in spaces and places on campus Black martyrdom vs. recognition What lies ahead for Amherst College: Reckoning, reform and celebration  Featured interview: Rhonda Cobham-Sander, the Emily C. Jordan Folger Professor of Black Studies and English, who has taught at Amherst since 1986

This episode deconstructs stories of vulnerability, challenge, growth and joy from Black women who dared to be their authentic selves at Amherst. Host: Nichelle S. Carr '98 Guest Co-host: Tene Adero Howard '01 Discussion topics: Personal reflections on: Culture shock and seeking space for self-expression and joy  Amherst College's beloved but controversial Black freshmen orientation  The high cost of authenticity  Colorism, classism and rejection from one's own Code-switching and coping The importance of “sistahood”  Learning to thrive in a predominantly white institution  Featured interviews (in order of appearance): Dr. Yulanda Faison-Oyebanji '92 Billye Smith Toussaint '01 Sarah Bass '06 Laura Jarrett '07

Sonia Sanchez, the poet, author, activist and scholar, arrived at Amherst in 1972 to build the Black studies department. Joining the College when it was still all-male, she was the first Black woman faculty member – a pioneer and revered mentor. Though Professor Sanchez voted for coeducation, she left Amherst before the first class of female students matriculated in 1975; her brief time at Amherst was marred by a traumatic event that forever changed Black life on campus. Host: Nichelle S. Carr '98  Discussion topics: A brief history of Black studies on U.S. campuses New York's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and its impact on Sanchez The tragic story of Gerald Penny '77, namesake of the Black cultural center on campus, and its lasting impact on Sanchez and the Amherst community The decline and revival of Black Studies at Amherst College, including the road to becoming what is considered by some to be one of the strongest departments at the institution and in the U.S. Featured interviews (in order of appearance): Sonia Sanchez, who taught at Amherst from 1972 to 1975 Rhonda Cobham-Sander, now the Emily C. Jordan Folger Professor of Black Studies and English, who arrived at Amherst in 1986

This episode features more first-person narratives of self-discovery and self-realization at Amherst College that encompass the competing demands of academics, intersectionality, dating, the Black Student Union (BSU) and the financial aid office. Host: Nichelle S. Carr '98 Guest Co-host: Tene Adero Howard '01 Discussion topics: Personal reflections on: Expressions and definitions of Blackness The changing role of the BSU LGBTQIA intersectionality The challenges of dating at a predominantly white institution  Beauty and desirability The high stakes and financial angst of being a first-generation college student Dealing with entitlement and microaggressions The struggle of academics vs. activism  “Black Girl Magic” Featured interviews (in order of appearance): “G” Wright Muir '95 Sarah Bass '06 Katyana Dandridge '18 Kyndall Ashe '18 Vanessa Olivier '01

Amherst College, the third oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts, is a private liberal arts college originally founded to train impoverished young men for the ministry. When the College went coed in the mid-1970s, the first Black female students encountered a campus that was not designed, built or ready for them. Discussion topics: Amherst College history Edward Jones, class of 1826, the first Black graduate of Amherst College, who was admitted with the expectation that he would serve as a missionary in Africa Dr. Anna Julia Cooper (“The Mother of Black Amherst”), the educator responsible for creating a pipeline to Amherst and other elite colleges for Black students from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. The legacy of Alexander Meiklejohn, president of Amherst college from 1912 to 1924, an early trailblazer in diversity and inclusion in education The dawn of coeducation at Amherst College during a time of societal shifts in the United States, and how the first Black women on campus confronted issues of belonging and intersectionality Featured interviews (in order of appearance): Bob Howard '76 Matthew Alexander Randolph '16 Martin Garnar, Director, Amherst College Library Cheryl Black Blair '78 The Hon. Denise Francois '80 LeAnn Shelton '80 Sheila Maddox '80 Adrienne White Faines '82 Kim Leary '82, Amherst College trustee emerita