From the Nominator

Amherst magazine pride itself on having a consumer magazine mindset. This is at the forefront in every editorial decision we make, from creating the story list to making assignments to writing headlines to choosing images. We take no reader for granted.

This entry consists of our Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 issues. As we planned the summer issue, we sought to tell the stories of alumni at the center of the COVID-19 response. It soon became clear that another crisis was unfolding in tandem with COVID, the crisis of systemic racism that took on new intensity after the killing of George Floyd. Our Summer 2020 cover story profiles sociologist Alexandre White ’10, an expert on the intersection of pandemics and racism.

Our focus on current crucial topics continued in the fall. Chloe McKenzie, a Black alumna, wrote about her research on “financial trauma,” a term of her coinage, which must be seen through the lens of systemic racism. It was critical that McKenzie speak to financial trauma directly, first-person, given that Black woman have historically seen their voices erased. This issue's cover story was a Q&A with a psychology professor who studies of bystander inaction. In her words: “When I first saw the video of George Floyd’s death, what struck me was not the officer kneeling on his neck—it was the other three officers who did not immediately stop this inappropriate use of force. If they had intervened, Mr. Floyd would be alive today.

From the Judges

Amherst Magazine is timely with its COVID narratives and solid writing. The design is with the pops of orange sprinkled among black and white pages. Stunning typography and sophisticated layout, with imagery to match! Amherst has a good combination of color and black and white photography and graphics. Loved the selfies!