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William Darity, a public policy professor at Duke University, has researched reparations for decades. With Professor Dania Francis at UMass Amherst, their paper, “The Economics of Reparations,” notes that the United States has paid reparations to wronged communities before, including Japanese families kept in internment camps, and Native-American tribes. But, they write, “almost 250 years of domestic enslavement of African people and their descendants have not elicited a similar response from the U.S. government.” Read More read more about Slavery Reparations Could Carry a $17 Trillion Price Tag »

Critics and scholars, including Mark Anthony Neal, say the rules echo a long history of keeping black people out of private and public spaces. Neal and popular culture expert Natalie Bullock Brown join host Frank Stasio to talk about the story in the latest installment of #BackChannel, The State of Things’ recurring series connecting culture and context. Listen read more about Racist Pool Rules in NC and 'When They See Us' Makes an Old Story Go Global »

Beyond the visual provocations, Lee has never missed an opportunity to link music to his message. His brilliance as a filmmaker and tastemaker is tied to his use of the Black musical archive. Nowhere was this more pronounced than the song that opens Do This Right Thing, Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.” Read More read more about 'Swinging While I'm Singing': Spike Lee, Public Enemy and the Message in the Music »

Many leading proponents of reparations point to the federal government’s failure to provide land and resources (40 acres and a mule) to former slaves following emancipation, as promised, as laying the course for today’s inequities. “Had such a racial land reform taken place,” the Duke University economist William Darity Jr. argues, “it is easy to envision that the vast current differences in wealth between black and nonblacks would not exist.” Mr. Darity has gone so far as to use the ungranted 40 acres of land… read more about Black People's Land Was Stolen »

William Darity, a professor of public policy at Duke University, where one of his areas of expertise is the economics of reparations, is one of the guests discussing hearings for a bill that would create a commission to study how slavery impacted its descendants, as well as possibilities for redress, including compensation. LISTEN read more about Ahead of House Panel Hearing, We Discuss The History of the Slavery Reparations Movement »

“We have not had a conversation about reparations on this scale or level since the Reconstruction Era,” William A. Darity Jr., a professor of public policy at Duke University who is writing a book on reparations, said in a telephone interview. “To be blunt, I am more optimistic than I have ever been in my life about the prospect of the enactment of a reparations program that is comprehensive and transformative.” Read More read more about At House Hearing, Panel Explores Reparations »

My first reaction to a recent story about the Outdoor Recreation Center in Wendell, N.C., and its stated pool guidelines that “No baggy pants, no dread-locks/weaves/extensions or revealing clothes will be permitted or you will be asked to leave” was one of whimsy; it seemed so ridiculous. That is until my 16-year-old daughter, who has swum competitively and worn locs for a decade, quickly stated her displeasure with the rules with an emphatic “that’s racist” (and I won’t state the descriptor that she added). Read More read more about NC's Pool Rules Echo History of Keeping Blacks Out »

William A. Darity Jr.: I would like the hearing to make it clear that a program of reparations must designate black American descendants of persons enslaved in the United States as recipients, that a primary goal of a reparations program must be elimination of the racial wealth gap, and that the injustices that form the basis for the reparations claim must include slavery, nearly a century of legal segregation in the United States, and ongoing racism manifest in police executions of unarmed blacks,… read more about What Americans Need To Know About Reparations Ahead of This Week's Big Hearing »

Serving along with Duke Divinity School Dean L. Gregory Jones M.Div.’85, Ph.D.’88 (Committee Chair) will be Jeff Baker, Professor of Pediatrics and Research Professor of History; Valerie Gillispie, University Archivist; Kerry Haynie, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of Academic Council (ex officio); William E. King ’61, A.M.’63, Ph.D.’70, University Archivist Emeritus; Adriane D. Lentz-Smith,… read more about Price Creates President's Advisory Committee on Institutional History »

“It’s Black Music Month, so all the films highlight black music,” said Camille Jackson, director of communications for the Department of African & African American Studies. “We’re hoping to attract people from both the Duke and Durham communities for this celebration of black music," Jackson said. Read More read more about The Music is in the Movie »

No economist has addressed the issue with the persistence and power that Duke University’s William Darity Jr. has. For nearly three decades, “Sandy” Darity has written papers and given presentations discussing the rationale and design of reparations policy. Next year, he will publish a book dedicated to the question, co-authored with his wife, Kirsten Mullen. Read More read more about 'If You Think Something's The Right Thing To Do, Then You Pursue It' »

Can philanthropy be a substitute for public policy? Popular culture experts Mark Anthony Neal and Natalie Bullock Brown take on that question with host Frank Stasio in the latest installment of #BackChannel, The State of Things’ recurring series connecting culture and context. They also discuss the new Netflix political documentary “Knock Down The House” which follows four progressive women who challenged incumbent Democrats in the 2018 election, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY… read more about A Black Billionaire and Queen Latifah Pay It Forward; Rihanna's Empire and Wu-Tang Clan »

Alondra Nelson, a professor of sociology at Columbia University and president of the Social Science Research Council, talked with two prominent scholars who have addressed the issue: Darrick Hamilton, the executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, and William A. Darity, the Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. LISTEN read more about Who Should Receive Reparations for Slavery and Discrimination? »

William A. Darity Jr., an economist at Duke University and a leading scholar on reparations, suggests two qualifying conditions: having at least one ancestor who was enslaved in the United States, and having identified oneself as African-American on a legal document for at least a decade before the approval of any reparations. The 10-year rule, he said, would help screen out anyone trying to cash in on a windfall. Read More read more about What Reparations For Slavery Might Look Like in 2019 »

THE LONGER ONE TALKS TO DARITY, the more the sad irony of the situation becomes clear. The statistics he has helped uncover—for example, that white households in Boston have a median net worth of $247,500; for African Americans, that number is a mere eight dollars—are striking snapshots that at first seem like typos. “It’s disturbing,” Darity says, “but before examining this work or this data, I would not have expected the gaps to be this large.” Read More read more about Sandy Darity Has Some Thoughts About Inequality »

As an undergraduate at Brown, though, in his initial economics classes, he witnessed “the way in which economists would explain, say, inequality across individuals or across social groups as attributable to something they call ‘human capital differences,’ ” Darity says, outlining the theory that states, roughly, that poor people are poorer because of deficits in intelligence, skill, education, or something similar. “And that did not resonate with my sense of how the world works.” Read More read more about Sandy Darity Has Some Thoughts About Inequality »

At Duke he has taken his interest in performing arts and creative industries and has pursued classes that further expand on those areas. With his face brimming in excitement, he begins to list off his favorite classes at the Durham institution. “My favorite class was History of Hip-Hop, taught by [music producer] 9th Wonder and professor Mark Anthony Neal,” says the Spartanburg, SC native. Read More read more about Believe The Hype: Zion Williamson is Gonna Shock the World »

Mark Anthony Neal on the legacy of Nipsey Hussle: He was an underground guy. He made his reputation basically on a mixtape he did in 2013 that he sold for $100 ... He had just released his first official major label release which earned him a Grammy award. What folks loved about Nipsey was the fact that he was someone not famous famous ... but someone who clearly has some name recognition and has the ability to leave the hood, if you will, but chose to maintain the roots that he had built in his community… read more about Remembering John Singleton and Nipsey Hussle, Plus the Style and Swag of Lizzo and Beyoncé »

“It means more to me that the culture is represented than that a I’m being recognized,” Douthit said. “It’s something that can be recognized in our state history. “Some of us can walk into museums and not relate to what’s there, but, now, if a kid who is making beats on his laptop walks into the N.C. Music Hall of Fame Museum and sees my picture, then he can say, ‘Maybe I can do that.’ Read More read more about Mitch Easter, 9th Wonder Will Be Inducted Into N.C. Music Hall of Fame »

Recently, some scholars who previously praised the policy have made sure to clarify it is not a panacea. The LIFT Act “won’t do much for wealth concentration, and it won’t do much for altering the position of people with the lower end of the wealth distribution,” said Sandy Darity, a Duke University professor who is a leading scholar on reparations and the racial wealth gap. Read More read more about Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, Courting Black Support, Pitch Differing Economic Plans »

This year’s winners are Kayla Corredera-Wells, an African & African American Studies and cultural anthropology major; Kevin Solomon, a political science major; Valerie Muensterman, an English major with minors in creative writing and theater studies; and Jay Zussman, a gender, sexuality and feminist studies and biophysics major. Read More read more about Seven Undergraduates With a Record of Advancing Knowledge and Bringing Change »

The Allen Building Takeover did not bring about an immediate solution to all the grievances brought forward by students in the Afro-American Society. However, meaningful change would eventually come and the protest would inspire change and leave a lasting legacy for all students at Duke.  One of the central demands of the students involved in the Allen Building Takeover was getting Duke to create an accredited department for African American Studies. That department was created and is now chaired by Mark Anthony Neal,… read more about 1969: Duke Building Taken Over By Students Protesting Racial Inequality »

Guest: William Darity, Professor of Public Policy, Duke University Several of the Democratic party’s top presidential hopefuls have said they support –or are at least open to –the US government making some sort of reparations to African Americans impacted by slavery. That could mean cash payments to descendants of slaves. Or it could mean specific housing, healthcare, scholarship or loan programs for black Americans. Reparations have been discussed periodically since slavery was abolished more than 150 years ago, but it’s… read more about Reparations For Slavery Becomes 2020 Campaign Issue »

“For Black audiences, particularly for Black youth, it’s a reminder of the legacy of these institutions and that particularly in this moment – this kind of Trump’s America – that these are still vibrant institutions that still have a mission to educate Black folks,” said Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, chair of the Department of African & African American Studies and the founding director of the Center for Arts, Digital Culture and Entrepreneurship at Duke University. “It’s a great celebration of HBCUs, particularly from someone… read more about Beyoncé's 'Homecoming' Brings HBCU Culture to the Forefront »

Haynie, associate professor of political science and African and African American studies, has had a long career in academia. Haynie was chosen to succeed Don Taylor, the current chair of Academic Council and a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, in a closed ballot vote by the council earlier this semester. Read More read more about Newly Elected Academic Council Chair Kerry Haynie Looks Ahead at 2-Year Term »

William Darity Jr., a professor of public policy at Duke University and a scholar on the economics of reparations, told Politico that he was “admiring” what the students at Georgetown were doing. But he also urged them to work on a nationwide effort instead of going only for “piecemeal” solutions. Read More read more about America, Take Note: Georgetown Students Are Acting on the Courage of Their Convictions »