Where we are today is a result of the work and activism of students who came before. Students at Mount Holyoke have been active and insistent in creating change. The first major sit-ins and demonstrations demanding change began in the 1960s and resulted in the creation of the Betty Shabazz Cultural House, the Black Studies department, and the hiring of more Black faculty and staff.
Students at Mount Holyoke had been campaigning for increased education, representation, and support on campus for many years. In the 1960s, protests at colleges across the country began to erupt due to the slow pace of changes on campuses. This in turn made many other colleges reevaluate their inclusivity and support for minorities. Mount Holyoke, recognizing the possibility of on campus demonstrations even before the later sit-ins of 1968 and 1970, began to examine where improvements could be made. The roll out of many of these changes however did not happen without pressures from student action.
Click on the images below to learn more about The Betty, and campus demonstrations.
