Amherst Academy

Amherst Academy
Amherst Academy

        The Amherst Academy built in 1814 was a school built to improve education in Amherst. It was located on Amity Street in Amherst, Massachusetts. The academy rested on a half-acre on Amity Street. The building was three stories high and meant to enroll 60 students. The significance of Amherst Academy lies in its decline, when in 1861 the academy was shut down. Having no use of the academy the president of Amherst College, William A. Stearns offered the academy to be used as a center where African Americans could worship. Churches, such as Zion Mission Chapel Sunday School and Grace Church parish were the first signs of African American churches in Amherst. It was even said that Frederick Douglass made an appearance at the church. These African American churches were important because majority of churches in the area did not allow African Americans and whites to worship under the same roof. Knowledge of Amherst Academy as a place of worship for African Americans since the 1860s shows that a African American population did in fact exist and well enough to maintain their presence in Amherst. The churches show the progressive presence of African Americans in Amherst despite the significant low population of African Americans. Having a place to worship created autonomy and began a African American history of significance in Amherst that still resonates today. 

 

 

 

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Dr. Amilcar Shabazz
Dr. Amilcar Shabazz

Dedicated to

Dr. Amilcar Shabazz, chair of W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies, and instructor of the class "Heritage Of The Oppressed." Thank you for reminding us the importance of learning the stories of the "other." 

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