AMHERST COLLEGE
Department of Art and the History of Art
November 16, 2015
Dear Students and Amherst College Community,
We, the faculty of the Department of Art and the History of Art, write to support
AmherstUprising’s efforts to bring racial equality and inclusivity for all marginalized students
to Amherst College.
We have been inspired by the students’ readiness to speak out against racial injustice, bias, and
prejudice. We recognize these courageous undertakings as creative acts: they seek to bring into
being new ways of seeing, doing, and knowing that would not otherwise evolve by ordinary
processes. It is our hope that the difficult conversations that students have broached will be met
with understanding and respect, and that these discussions will reverberate across campus to
effect needed change. We support systemic change at the College.
For our part, the recent events have already caused us to bring a more critical eye to the materials
and methods with which we teach, to acknowledge and incorporate a greater multiplicity of
experiences, perspectives, histories, and practices. We welcome this challenge.
Yours in solidarity,
The Amherst College Department of Art and the History of Art
Robert Sweeney, Chair
Rowland Abiodun
Louise M. Beckett
Brianne Cohen
Nicola Courtright
Douglas Culhane
Wendy Ewald
Betsey Garand
David Gloman
Carol Keller
Justin Kimball
Adam Levine
Nicholas Meyer
Samuel Morse
Yael Rice
Richard Scorpio
Natasha Staller