The Amherst Student issue from March 2nd, 1967
“New England Black Students Seek to Resist Assimilation,” “Form Afro-American Society at MHC”
Written by Stephen Foster ’70.
“A meeting of 45 Negro students of the newly formed Mount Holyoke Afro-American Society was held Tuesday night at Wilbur Hall to discuss its role as an organization. The purpose of the society, according to the co-chairman Debby Gibson ’70, is ‘to establish group recognition of the black students at Mount Holyoke.'” Read second page here.
The Amherst Student issue from March 2nd, 1967
“Black Holyoke Power”
“The past weeks have seen a sudden surge of Negro student consciousness on New England campuses… The activities of the newly-formed Mount Holyoke group have been shrouded in similar secrecy, Leaders of the group are hostile to any questions about its purposes… The secrecy of the Holyoke group is inappropriate and disturbing. Its hostility is neither politically necessary nor merited by the attitudes of Holyoke’s white students”
The Amherst Student issue from April 26th, 1967
“Letters to the Editor: ‘Defamous’ Article Attacked by Chairman Of Afro-American Group”
Written by Sandra L. Green, Co-Chairman, Afro-American Society at Mount Holyoke College as a response to Amherst Student article titled “Black Holyoke Power.”
“Mount Holyoke has no ‘inappropriate and disturbing’ political organization which is ‘shrouded in secrecy’ or coordinated with ‘hostile’ leaders.”
The Amherst Student issue from March 6th, 1967
“News in Brief: Consider Afro-American Society at Amherst”
“Fifteen Negro students met in Valentine annex last Thursday evening to discuss the possibility of a Negro group on campus similar to the Afro-American societies recently begun at other eastern colleges.”
The Amherst Student issue from December 7th, 1967
“Afro-Americans Announce April Black Arts Festival”
Written by Daniel Cochran ’68
“There have been some criticism of the Afro-American Society here at Amherst. It has been called a ‘black fraternity.’
Most of the members, however, respond to this label as Rick Sims ’70 did: ‘Certainly implicit in the idea of an Afro-American Society is the notion of fraternity, there is a commonality. But the difference between this fraternity and the typical Amherst fraternity is that this is an association we are born into.'”
Read more about the Black Arts Festival.
Main Page | Site Map | The Process
Photo credit Amherst College Olio