Department of African & African American StudiesAuthor 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 »
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 »
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… read more about Naomi Lilly '20 is Disrupting Arts & Entertainment »
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 »
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… 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 »
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.” The university had admitted its first black students just six years earlier. Against a national backdrop of social change and racial tension, the student protestors felt they had exhausted the proper channels. And their actions… read more about Always in Motion: 50 Years of Black Studies at Duke »
In their forthcoming book, “From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century,” William “Sandy” Darity Jr. and wife Kirsten Mullen of Durham make a case for reparations for black Americans. Read More read more about Durham Couple's New Book Makes A Case For Reparations »
Popular culture experts Natalie Bullock Brown and Mark Anthony Neal join host Frank Stasio to talk about Lizzo’s influence and what is behind the body shaming. Plus, they share their personal Grammy picks, including Georgia Anne Muldrow for best urban contemporary album and Jazzmeia Horn for best jazz vocal album. LISTEN read more about #BackChannel: Year of Lizzo, Evolving Legacies of Nipsey Hussle & Prince, and What To Watch »
The Graduate School has announced the recipients of its 2020 Dean's Awards, which recognize outstanding efforts in mentoring, teaching, and creating an inclusive environment for graduate education at Duke. The recipients will be honored at a reception on Wednesday, March 25. Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring FACULTY William Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy Jennifer Roizen, Assistant Professor of Chemistry David Wong, Susan Fox Beischer and George D. Beischer… read more about 10 Dean;s Awards Recipients Named For 2020 »
The Graduate School has announced the recipients of its 2020 Dean's Awards, which recognize outstanding efforts in mentoring, teaching, and creating an inclusive environment for graduate education at Duke. The recipients will be honored at a reception on Wednesday, March 25. Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring Faculty William Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy Jennifer Roizen, Assistant Professor of Chemistry David Wong, Susan Fox Beischer and George D. Beischer… read more about 10 Dean’s Awards Recipients Named for 2020 »
But William Darity, a professor at Duke University, argues the federal government, which “maintained the legal framework for apartheid in America’’ should pay black descendants of American slavery and eliminate the racial wealth gap. Read More read more about The US is grappling with its history of slavery »
William Darity, a Duke University public policy professor and an expert on reparations, said the voices of college students have helped bring attention to reparations in a way that hasn’t been seen since Reconstruction. But he has warily watched what he sees as a piecemeal approach to an issue he believes merits a congressional response. “I don’t want anybody to be under the impression that these constitute comprehensive reparations,” Darity said. Read More read more about Reparations mark new front for US colleges tied to slavery »
The elegant 1986 work he’s dancing, “Divertimento,” is one of the first images visitors see in “The America That Is to Be,” an exhibition at the Frye Art Museum here that runs through Jan. 26. Organized by the dance artist and scholar Thomas F. DeFrantz, the show traces the evolution, over 40 years, of Mr. Byrd’s commitment to dance as a catalyst for social justice. “Donald has been celebrated but way undervalued,” said Mr. DeFrantz, who has been his friend and worked with him intermittently as a dramaturge since the… read more about Can Dance Make A More Just America? Donald Byrd is Working on It »
Popular culture experts Natalie Bullock Brown and Mark Anthony Neal join host Frank Stasio to break down the latest chapter in the story — a derailed workout event — and analyze what it means about the power and peril of being a black athlete. LISTEN read more about Kaepernick's Future, Meditations on Mothering Black Sons and the Apollo Theater »
“Many borders are decided in places that aren’t at the edges of nations or represented by a fence,” said Piot, a professor of cultural anthropology and African and African American studies and a leading researcher in the economy and history of West Africa. Read More read more about How Migration Scholars Interpret Borders »
Global experts gathered at Duke University to examine today’s border policies and the movement of migrants between Africa and Europe. Although borders are often considered fixed and rigid boundaries, the definitions of who can cross and who cannot are constantly changing, Duke professor Charlie Piot told attendees at the “Challenging Borders” conference held on Nov. 18 at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute. “Many borders are decided in places that aren’t at the edges of nations or represented by a fence,”… read more about How Migration Scholars Interpret Borders »
William Darity Jr., a professor at Duke University, has written a series of reports about wealth inequality cited by Mr. Moore and Ms. Carnell. In one report, Dr. Darity found that the median net worth of white households in Los Angeles was $355,000, compared with $4,000 for black Americans. African immigrants in the city had a median net worth of $72,000. Dr. Darity’s research also shows that not all immigrant groups are wealthy. Dr. Darity did not attend the recent conference in Kentucky, but he said … read more about We're Self-Interested: The Growing Debate in Black America »
Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, one of the first five African-Americans undergraduate students at Duke, died Oct. 22 at age 72. Reuben-Cooke entered Trinity College of Arts and Sciences in 1963 along with Gene Kendall and Nathaniel "Nat" White, Mary Mitchell Harris and Cassandra Rush. With Reuben-Cooke’s death, only Kendall and White remain as surviving members of the original five. Read More read more about Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, A 'First Five' African-American Undergraduate at Duke, Dies at Age 72. »
"The case-by-case approach can't encompass the full range of effects of slavery in producing racial inequality in the United States," says William Darity, a professor of public policy and African-American studies at Duke University who has written extensively on reparations. LISTEN read more about With Plans To Pay Slavery Reparations, Two Seminaries Prompt A Broader Debate »
But more than being a musician, he is committed to preserving hip-hop music, culture and history using the classroom as one of his platforms. He’s a professor at N.C. Central University and Duke University and has taught classes at Harvard University through a fellowship with the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute. Read More read more about 9th Wonder, Our Tar Heel of the Month, Goes Beyond Making Music. He Preserves Its Legacy. »
The racial divisions that so permeate American society are not rooted in biology, a group of scholars agreed Wednesday at a public forum on race. The event, “RACE: Past, Present and Future,” featured scholars from Duke and N.C. A&T State University along with Kenyan paleoanthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey, known for fossil discoveries that shed light on early human evolution. Humans are “genetically remarkably uniform,” Leakey said. “Race and color are totally different things. “It is uniquely American to… read more about Shaking Off Outmoded Ideas On Race »
Several panelists said the popularity of genetic testing services such as Ancestry.com has further clouded many people’s thinking about race and genetics. “People are conflating ancestry with race, and they’re not equivalent,” said Duke geneticist and bioethicist Charmaine Royal. Read More read more about Shaking Off Outmoded Ideas on Race »
The project has been designated a Sawyer Seminar Series and awarded a grant of $225,000 over two years. Institutions must be invited to apply for the opportunity. Leading the effort are professors Edna Andrews, chair of Linguistics; Lee Baker, chair of Cultural Anthropology; and Liliana Paredes, director of the Spanish language program in Romance Studies. Read More read more about Seminar Series to Raise Awareness of Language Discrimination »
Cummings was born to sharecroppers, and during his more than 20-year career in congress, he became known as someone who often spoke truth to power. On this installment of #BackChannel, The State of Things’ recurring series connecting culture and context, popular culture experts Natalie Bullock Brown and Mark Anthony Neal join host Frank Stasio to reflect on the Baltimore-born congressman’s impact as an activist and as a community leader. LISTEN read more about Elijah Cummings, 'Red Table Talk,' and Chelsea Handler's White Privilege »
Like others in this field, Kerry L. Haynie drew from personal experience to develop what became Duke University’s Summer Institute on Tenure and Professional Advancement. One day, two years into his first job, he was walking across campus with a senior colleague who mentioned that Haynie should start thinking about his third-year review. Haynie had no idea what he meant. Junior faculty members of color, he said, “are often excluded from networks, due mostly to benign neglect,” and so “we tend to find out important… read more about When Faculty of Color Feel Isolated, Consortia Expand Their Networks »
Jessica Covil, a third-year doctoral candidate studying English, African and African American studies and gender, sexuality and feminist studies, is the creator and instructor of the Black Feminism in Pop Culture course. This class presents the principles of effective communication through the lens of feminist activism in the 1970s and 1980s, a revolution that experienced a resurgence in 2013 in the form of the modern Black Girl Magic movement. Read More read more about New Writing 101 Class Teaches First Years Through Feminist Lens »