We, the faculty of the American Studies Department, write in support of those students who this week have demonstrated in solidarity with other students at campuses nationwide who are protesting racism.
The testimony you and scores of other students have provided in Frost Library about your experiences at Amherst clearly demonstrate that Amherst remains an institution where people of color too often are marginalized and silenced. We are concerned that this presents an unsafe environment that is antithetical to intellectual exchange.
The Amherst College American Studies Department has long been committed to the critical study of American society from diverse perspectives, work that defines race from its most theoretical postulations to its hard, concrete material meanings—including a legacy of violence that continues to imperil lives. Many in our community are unaware of what it is like to hear car door locks click as you pass by, to be scrutinized with suspicion when you enter a store, to be pulled over on the roadway for some inexplicable reason, and to fear with just cause those charged with protecting your safety.
