Department of African & African American Studies
Sandy Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, African & African American Studies and Economics, explains his research on reparations in this article at GQ. read more about How Much Is Owed to Afro-descendants in the Americas? »
Here are recently published and forthcoming books by Duke authors, from September and October: Marc Zvi Brettler, co-author: “The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently” Annotated Edition (HarperOne, Oct. 27, 2020) Avshalom Caspi and Terrie E. Moffitt, co-authors: “The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life” (Harvard University Press) Samuel Fury Childs Daly: “A History of the Republic of Biafra: Law, Crime, and… read more about New Great Reads from Duke Authors »
As part of its event series tgiFHI, the Franklin Humanities Institute is conducting interviews with its faculty speakers in order to familiarize broader audiences with the diversity of research approaches in the humanities, arts, and interpretive social sciences at Duke University. Dr. Jasmine Nichole Cobb is the Bacca Foundation Associate Professor of African & African American Studies and of Art, Art History and Visual Studies. She is also a co-director of the “From Slavery to Freedom” (FS2F) Humanities Lab at the… read more about Meet Your Humanities Faculty: Jasmine Nichole Cobb »
Kim Cato is hanging up her medical scrubs to play detective this summer. In her imagination, that is. Cato has read “State of Onion,” a suspense novel about a White House chef hunted by an assassin, and she plans to read “The Scent of Rain and Lightning,” which is about a woman who investigates her father’s murder 23 years later. “Mysteries take me out of this world we’re in right now,” said Cato, a clinical nurse for Duke Gastroenterology. “I’m not usually right, but I love trying to figure out the question of whodunnit… read more about Books to Capture Your Attention This Summer »
Mark Anthony Neal, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African & African American Studies, joined PBS NewsHour to discuss the history and significance of Juneteenth. Watch the video at the PBS website. read more about What Is Juneteenth? »
In a lunch-hour conversation on Friday, June 5, the Kenan Institute for Ethics’ signature series, The Ethics of Now from Home broke from its weekly webinar schedule to quickly respond to George Floyd’s murder, racism, police violence, and public demonstrations happening all across the nation. In the conversation, “Racism, Police Violence, and Protests,” series host Adriane Lentz-Smith (Associate Professor of History), was joined by William A. “Sandy” Darity Jr. (Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public… read more about Racism, Police Violence, and Protests »
Mark Anthony Neal, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African & African American Studies, joined WRAL to discuss protests against police violence and systemic racism. Watch the video at WRAL. read more about Duke Professor Discusses Protests, Police and What Happens Next »
Even with seemingly convincing video evidence, prosecutors may struggle to convict a former Minnesota police officer charged with the third-degree murder of a man he was restraining, a Duke law scholar said Tuesday. Duke law professor James Coleman Jr. said the case against Derek Chauvin may come down to a jury’s interpretation of precisely what caused the death of George Floyd, who Chauvin restrained with a knee hold for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin is white, Floyd was black, and the incident led to mass race protests in… read more about Duke Scholars Examine Protests and Police Conduct »
The “middle class” can be hard to define. A new report from Duke University suggests that for African Americans it’s simply hard to find — and that’s in the best of circumstances. The paper from researchers at Duke’s Samuel DuBois Cook Center for Social Equity finds that when using wealth as the defining criteria to demarcate class status, the middle class of black Americans is proportionately much smaller than the white middle class. “Even before the current pandemic exacerbated racial inequities, black Americans in the… read more about Middle class not a level playing field for blacks, new Duke research finds »
Congratulations to the following student award winners from Duke University units in 2020. African & African American Studies John Hope Franklin Award for Academic Excellence: Elizabeth DuBard Grantland Karla FC Holloway Award for University Service: Beza Gebremariam Mary McLeod Bethune Writing Award: Jenna Clayborn Walter C. Burford Award for Community Service: Kayla Lynn Corredera-Wells Art, Art History & Visual Studies Mary Duke… read more about Student Honors and Laurels for 2020 »
A massive infusion of government cash and other resources is needed to help keep families afloat during the pandemic, a trio of Duke scholars said Tuesday. The recently approved $2 trillion stimulus bill won’t come close to solving the problems facing America’s working families, particularly African Americans, children and people who rely on government assistance to eat, they said during a web-based press conference. Here are excerpts: ON WHAT BLACK FAMILIES FACE RIGHT NOW William “Sandy” Darity,… read more about Duke Experts on How to Help Struggling Families in The Pandemic »
Mark Anthony Neal, the James B. Duke Professor of African & African American Studies, euologizes famed musician Bill Withers as a man who "eschewed the hit machine for emotional truth." Read more at NPR. read more about Bill Withers' Legacy Is So Much Deeper Than The Hits We All Know »
Today on All Sides with Ann Fisher: understanding the arguments for reparations for slavery and whether or not they are achievable. Guests: Hasan Kwame Jeffries, associate professor, Ohio State University department of history William Darity Jr., professor of public policy, Duke University Tony Bogues, director, Brown University's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice LISTEN read more about Slavery Reparations »
The upcoming Afro-Feminist Performance Routes symposium and the Collegium for African Diasporic Dance highlight the contributions of Black dance, allowing artists, dancers, students, faculty, and the wider Durham community to share in critical inquiry and inspiration. Read More read more about Two Events Making Duke the Center of Black Dance »
The upcoming Afro-Feminist Performance Routes symposium and the Collegium for African Diasporic Dance highlight the contributions of Black dance, allowing artists, dancers, students, faculty, and the wider Durham community to share in critical inquiry and inspiration. Rujeko Dumbutshena is a dancer, choreographer and teacher of what she terms “neo traditional” Zimbabwean dance technique, Rujeko Dumbutshena teaches and performs throughout the U.S. and recently received her MFA from the University of New Mexico.The Rubenstein… read more about Two Events Making Duke the Center of Black Dance »
One of the state’s leading political figures joined six Duke faculty, staff and students in being honored for their community leadership and activism at the annual Samuel DuBois Cook Society Awards ceremony Feb. 11 at the Washington Duke Inn. The ceremony was led by Kimberly D. Hewitt, Duke’s new vice president of institutional equity. Hewitt succeeds Benjamin Reese, who retired last year and served as emcee for the Cook Society ceremony for more than a decade. The mission of the Cook Society is to recognize, celebrate,… read more about Cook Society Honors Lives Led in Service at Duke and in the Community »
Popular culture experts Natalie Bullock Brown and Mark Anthony Neal join host Frank Stasio in this installment of #Backchannel to talk about representation in animated film and how the short disrupts assumptions about black fathers. They also pay tribute to the recently-deceased Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and share insight into the tension surrounding how his 2003 rape allegation is being talked about in the wake of his death. LISTEN read more about 'Hair Love,' Remembering Kobe Bryant and Michael Vick's Road to Redemption »
Could financial reparations reduce the racial wealth gap? What else could the United States government do to make amends to black Americans for the crimes of slavery and subsequent injustices? Guests: William Darity Jr., Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies and Economics at Duke University and co-author of the forthcoming book, "From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century" A. Kirsten Mullen,… read more about A Reparations Roadmap for 21st Century Black Americans »
Thanks to 50 brave Duke black students who, in 1969, orchestrated a takeover of the Allen Building demanding a call for action beyond the desegregation of Duke campus that occurred six years prior, not only has the undergraduate student population grown to include approximately 10% black students, but also the Department of African & African American Studies was established in 1970. The Trinity College of Arts and Sciences celebrates the 50th anniversary of the department, which offers an interdisciplinary approach into… read more about Five Decades of African American Studies at Trinity »
Duke senior Liddy Grantland, who is this year’s Duke Chapel Student Preacher, will deliver a sermon in the chapel on Sunday, Feb. 23. A double major in English and African & African American Studies from Columbia, South Carolina, Grantland will preach during the chapel’s 11 a.m. worship service. Her sermon is based on the verses of the Gospel of Matthew that describes Jesus ascending a mountain with three of his disciples and then being transfigured with light. A key passage for Grantland is when the voice of God… read more about Duke Senior’s Sermon Feb. 23 to Find Equality Before God »
Author Jamillah Karim participated in last week’s Black Muslim Atlantic Symposium honoring the legacy of C. Eric Lincoln. Read More read more about Said@Duke: Jamillah Karim »
I took all the 9th Wonder classes here: History of Hip Hop (co-taught with Mark Anthony Neal, Department of African and African-American Studies), Black Popular Culture, Hip Hop Production, and a class taught with Professor Francis L. Roberts (Duke Music). Students can absolutely pursue music through education here at Duke. I wish I had the opportunity to take more classes. Read More read more about Andre Mego '20 Blends Pre-Med, Writing and Hip Hop »
Mark Anthony Neal explains why comedy has been a regular means of resistance Watch read more about Dick Gregory and the History of Black Comedy and Activism »
“When we talk about Black aesthetics, we’re usually talking about the production of art, literature, theater and these sorts of things,” Duke University historian Jasmine Cobb told HuffPost. Cobb is an expert in media depictions of Black people throughout history, and her forthcoming book focuses on the art and texture of Black hair after emancipation Read More read more about Introducing Black Hair Defined »
Duke senior Naomi Lilly has just launched a new kind of online community. Her company, NAL-Nay Lilly is “creating networking opportunities for silenced voices in the media industry.” Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of this arts project, which is informed by Lilly’s own creative practice, her experiences in Duke in LA and NYC, and her major in Department of African & African American Studies and double minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies and Visual Media Studies. Read More read more about Naomi Lilly '20 is Disrupting Arts & Entertainment »
Meet Duke senior Naomi Lilly (photo, far right) before she launches NAL-Nay Lilly, a networking platform for diverse creative talent in this student-to-student interview. Duke senior Naomi Lilly has just launched a new kind of online community. Her company, NAL-Nay Lilly is “creating networking opportunities for silenced voices in the media industry.” Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of this arts project, which is informed by Lilly’s own creative practice, her experiences in Duke in LA and NYC, and her major… read more about People of Duke Arts: Naomi Lilly ’20 is Disrupting Arts and Entertainment »
It’s been over three years since the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) opened in D.C. in September 2016, but the excitement around it doesn’t seem to have dimmed much. Chances are, you’re going to have to get your tickets three months in advance if you want to visit. Infants need their own timed pass, too. On Friday, January 17, Duke’s From Slavery to Freedom Lab hosted a panel in conjunction with the Franklin Humanities Institute on the topic of contemporary Black arts and icons. The panel… read more about Curating a New Portrait of Black America »
In February of 1969, more than 50 student members of the Afro-American Society at Duke University entered the Allen Building and staged a takeover of administrative spaces. Their demands varied, but first on the list was “the establishment of a fully-accredited department of Afro-American Studies.” Read More read more about Always in Motion »