Rooted in Rebellion: Our History of Collective Resistance

The Hortense Parker Celebration Week honors Mount Holyoke’s first known student of color to graduate and the first known African American to attend the College less than two decades after the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Established in 2009 by graduating seniors Ahyoung An ’09 and Camila Curtis-Contreras ’09, to celebrate and raise awareness of the history, struggles and achievements of people of color at Mount Holyoke, we continue to celebrate the legacy of not only Hortense Parker, but all Mount Holyoke College students, faculty and staff of color.

Sponsored by the SGA Students of Color Committee and the Office of Community and Belonging, the celebration is held annually in early October. The event features an alum speaker, a keynote address by a renowned person of color, student performances, an essay contest, and more.

This year's theme "Rooted in Rebellion: Our History of Collective Resistance” takes a look back at the trailblazers of color who fought for our place at Mount Holyoke. While students of color, domestic or international, are currently having to fight for access to higher education, it is more important than ever to remember the actions and sacrifices of Mount Holyoke students to ensure that we will not go back. By graduating from Mount Holyoke, Hortense Parker opened doors for students of any color and by continuing to pursue our education, we fortify her legacy every day.

This year, we reflect on the actions of former students who were unafraid to fight for their place at this institution; to make this a place students of color could call MoHome. We listen to the trailblazers, the Elianas and Zowies, on how to keep moving forward during these trying times. We must learn from their resistance and remember how far we have come.