Activism at Amherst Over the Years

Amherst College in 1821

By Kamil Mahmood 

Over the years, student protests and activism have been an integral part of Amherst’s history. From occupying campus buildings to organizing conferences, students have used a variety of ways to make their voices heard. Here’s a look back at some of the ways that Amherst students have risen for the causes they believe in. 

1834

Three years after the college was founded, students at Amherst formed an Anti-Slavery Society. This clashed with the the Amherst’s Colonization Society, a white-led organization that encouraged the resettlement of free Black people and emancipated slaves to Africa. After protests on campus, the faculty requested that both societies disband. The Colonization Society complied in the summer of 1834, but the Anti-Slavery Society protested and persisted. In February 1835, the faculty declared that “in the present agitated state of the public mind, it is inexpedient to keep up any organization under the name of anti-slavery, colonization, or the like in our literary and theological institutions.”1 Thereafter, the Anti-Slavery Society met in secret.  In the late 1830s, society was reorganized following faculty suppression. On February 23, 1835, student organizers ended their meeting with an impassioned resolution: “we are and will be forever Anti-Slavery Men!”. Through invoking their right to abolitionist activism and forcing faculty to reverse their sanctions, student abolitionism flourished at Amherst from 1837 to 1841. 2

1870 

Almost 100 years before Amherst College officially became co-ed, The Amherst Student endorsed and called for co-education. “[L]east of all did we, here at Amherst, consider the possibility of knocks, by female knuckles, upon our own doors. But … the question of admitting them … must very soon be laid before the authorities for definite action. The answer … will probably be yes! … There is nothing in the College Statutes against it. There are many gentlemen in the Faculty and among the Trustees who favor it. The ladies demand it.”3

1963 

On October 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy came to campus to receive an honorary degree and participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for Frost Library. A group of students organized a protest in front of Johnson Chapel in favor of the Civil Rights Act, later passed by President Johnson in 1964. 4

1965

The Four College Civil Rights Conference was organized in February 1965, exploring the topic “Reform or Revolution.” The conference included speeches by Michael Harrington, special consultant to the President on the “War on Poverty,” Ossie Davis, director and activist, and Malcolm X. Ultimately, Malcolm X could not make it to the conference after being ordered out of France as “undesirable,” according to a New York Herald Tribune article from February 19655. The conference went ahead despite weather obstacles and was attended by an estimated 400 delegates.6

1966 – 1970

Student protests and activism regarding the Vietnam War dominated this entire period. After the US crop bombing in Vietnam, 60 students participated in a hunger fast demonstration and used mealtime hours to discuss the war.7 During the 145th commencement, twenty Amherst College seniors walked out as Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara was about to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. This protest gained significant nationwide coverage. Most articles criticized the Amherst demonstration as “foolish and immature” or a “display of boorishness and bad manners.”8 Many articles also disapproved of the protesters’ long and shaggy hair. Later in the year, 175 people lined the town green for the first of weekly planned vigils to protest the Vietnam War. In the same month, 34 students blocked the entrance to Valentine Hall to prevent army recruiters from setting up a display table.9

President Ward (seated middle) joins students at an antiwar demonstration at Westover Air Force Base in 1972 (William Rosser). Source: Amherst College Website

1970

From 1 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., approximately 250 students from the Five Colleges occupied Converse Hall, College Hall (now known as the Loeb Center), Frost Library, and Merrill Science Center. The protesters issued a list of demands to the college president, including the creation of a Five College Black Studies program, the establishment of a Black Studies department at Amherst College, increased recruitment of and financial aid for Black students, and funding for the Black Cultural Center. Protesters also temporarily removed over 300 Black Studies-related books from Frost Library. Just a few months earlier, student protests had led to a two-day suspension of classes to discuss the Vietnam War, race relations, and coeducation. Although the faculty initially issued a statement condemning the takeover, the movement ultimately resulted in the founding of the Black Studies Department at Amherst College.10

Students at the Moratorium in 1969. Photographer: Jim Gerhard. Source: Amherst College Digital Collections, Photographer Records (Selections),, Photographs of Moratorium, 1969 October 15, Image 104

1977

Over 2000+ protestors, including Amherst College students, occupied the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant construction site. The demonstrators, known as the Clamshell Alliance, opposed the construction of the $2 billion Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. 15-20 Amherst College students were among the 1000+ arrested in what became one of the largest mass arrests in American history11. The construction of the plant attracted serious criticism from local groups and larger environmental organizations.

1979

Following a cross burning on April 16th 12, around 90 students chained themselves inside Converse Hall while 500+ protestors rallied outside in support. Key issues included whether the college would continue a special orientation program for minority freshmen, divestment from South Africa, and the lack of diversity amongst faculty. Protestors also advocated for a greater student voice in selecting the dean of minority students and continuing a tutoring program for Springfield youngsters. After 8 days of occupation, John William Ward, the college president, suspended 72 students. 

1984

Amherst College students staged a sit-in at Converse to protest an administration plan to end the campus fraternity system. Plans for a hunger strike were also announced by supporters, who called it an effort to preserve the civil rights of students to join fraternities. Nearly 200 protesters filled the lobby and the dean’s office at Converse Hall. At the time, around 800 of Amherst’s 1500 students belonged to fraternities. 

2015

Amherst students planned a one-hour sit-in in Frost Library in solidarity with Black students protesting racism at the University of Missouri, Yale, and other schools. The sit-in grew into a weekend-long occupation of Frost Library, during which students of color and others who feel marginalized testified about their struggles at Amherst. The weekend led to a highly publicized long-term movement– known as the Amherst Uprising –to push the administration to address discrimination and inequities at the College13. According to then President Biddy Martin, the Uprising left a lasting legacy and “changed virtually every domain at the College.”14

Students, faculty, and staff gathered in Frost Library Thursday night to hear protesters read their demands to President Biddy Martin. Source: The Amherst Student, November 13, 2015

Throughout its history, Amherst students have consistently shown a deep commitment to activism and advocacy, pushing the college—and often society at large—toward progress. From the early fights against slavery to modern movements for racial justice and equity, their voices and actions have shaped the institution’s values and future. Their legacy reminds us that change is often driven by the courage and conviction of those willing to stand up and demand better.

  1.  Kelly, Mike, and Katherine Duke. People, protest, purpose: A college timeline | 2021: Fall | amherst college, October 13, 2021. https://www.amherst.edu/news/magazine/issues/2021-fall/people-protest-purpose.  ↩︎
  2. Jirik, Michael E. “‘We Are and Will Be Forever Anti-Slavery Men!’: Student Abolitionists and Subversive Politics at Amherst College, 1833–1841.” In Amherst in the World, edited by Martha Saxton, 291–304. Amherst College Press, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.11873533.20. ↩︎
  3. Amherst College, “Amherst College Timeline,” Bicentennial, https://www.amherst.edu/about/history/bicentennial/amherst-college-timeline.​ ↩︎
  4. “Feature: The Poet and the President.” Amherst College https://www.amherst.edu/news/magazine/issue-archive/20032004_FallWinter/poet_president ↩︎
  5. “1965: France Bars Malcolm X.” The New York Times, February 10, 1965. https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/1965-france-bars-malcolm-x/#:~:text=French%20authorities%20today%20[Feb.%209]%20barred%20Malcolm,American%20black%20nationalist%20leader%20arrived%20from%20London. ↩︎
  6. Aronow , Fred. “Civil Rights Conference Meets Despite Weather Obstacles.” The Amherst Student, February 15, 1965. https://acdc.amherst.edu/view/AmherstStudent/AMS_19650215_v99_n33#mode/1up. ↩︎
  7. Nina Sudhakar, “This Week in Amherst History—March 7, 1966: Vietnam Protestors Fast,” The Amherst Student, March 7, 2005, http://amherststudent-archive.amherst.edu/current/arts/view.php%3Fyear=2004-2005&issue=20&section=arts&article=04.html ↩︎
  8. Appy, Christian G. “‘A Pervasive and Insistent Disquiet’: Amherst College in the 1960s.” In Amherst in the World, edited by Martha Saxton, 339–52. Amherst College Press, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.11873533.23. ↩︎
  9. Hardy, Tim. “34 Students Block Army OCS Agent From Entrance Into Valentine Hall: Recruiters Hindered Across Nation.” The Amherst Student, November 2, 1967. https://acdc.amherst.edu/view/AmherstStudent/AMS_19671102_v97_n16#mode/1up.  ↩︎
  10. S. Nathan, Robert. “BLACKS SEIZE BUILDINGS: Four Occupations in Morning But Evacuated in Late Afternoon.” The Amherst Student, February 18, 1970. https://acdc.amherst.edu/view/AmherstStudent/AMS_19700218_v99_n27.  ↩︎
  11. Read, Richard. “Occupation at Seabrook: AC Students among 1000 Arrested .” The Amherst Student, May 2, 1977. https://acdc.amherst.edu/view/AmherstStudent/AMS_19770502_v106_n41  ↩︎
  12. “Amherst College Officials Blame Cross‐Burning on Black Student.” The New York Times, April 18, 1979. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/18/archives/amherst-college-officials-blame-crossburning-on-black-student.html.   ↩︎
  13. Jingwen Zhang, “Students Protest Racial Discrimination at Sit-In,” The Amherst Student, November 13, 2015, http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/article/2015/11/13/students-protest-racial-discrimination-sit.html.  ↩︎
  14. Whittemore, Katharine. “Four Days in Frost That Changed Amherst Forever.” The Amherst Student, November 23, 2020. https://www.amherst.edu/news/news_releases/2020/11-2020/reflections-on-amherst-uprising. ↩︎