Category: Ajanae’s Research

As a math major, I rarely get the chance for my personal and academic interests to collide. So this course has been a blessing to my academic and personal development and has provided plenty of perspective as my Amherst career comes to a close. I can truly leave this campus feeling that I have made…Continue Reading Final Reflection

This week I really wanted to find more information about the Black Cultural Center library. I began to think about the importance of a library. At a recent BSU Meeting, we did a privilege walk and one of the statements was, “I grew up with more than 20 books in the house.” Many students stepped…Continue Reading Reflection #5

This week I looked through documents in the Octagon mural with Matt. We found a ton of interesting documents about the Afro- American Society/ Black Student Union. There are also loads of documents left to sort through.   I was able to find correspondence between Dean Jean Moss, The Office of the Dean of Students…Continue Reading Reflection #4

This week I pulled all the bio files of those depicted on the Octagon mural. I created a document of their current employment, hometown, major at Amherst and some interesting facts about each person. Below is the information I have so far. I will continue this research in the upcoming week. I also plan to…Continue Reading Reflection #3

Last week I focused on the Octagon before it became the Black Cultural Center. I was able to find tons of images of the Octagon when it was Woods Cabinet. There are images of all Edward Hitchcock’s geological findings and tons of images of the Babbott room. So this week I looked for information and…Continue Reading Reflection #2

I started by looking into the Octagon before it became the Black Cultural Center. The Octagon was built in 1847-1848 and was designed by Henry A. Sykes who was an architect and contractor. Former Amherst College President Edward Hitchcock was largely responsible for the construction of the Octagon. Hitchcock describes the Octagon (Woods Cabinet): “It…Continue Reading Reflection #1