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 »
“The three young women who have focused their energy on demonstrating how standards of black beauty speak for American standards of beauty are to be commended,” said Thomas DeFrantz, a professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Duke University. Read More read more about Three Black Women Win Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America »
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 »
The household wealth gap has a profound impact on the financial stability of black families, said William Darity, an economics professor at Duke University who studies economic inequality. It makes it harder for black families to weather recessions and personal setbacks, pass along real estate and other assets that can give subsequent generations a head start, and take the risks that might result in higher earnings, such as moving for a job or starting a business. Read More read more about The Black-White Wage Gap is Growing. It's Worst in Texas. »
The forum, “Inequalities and the Erosion of Social Cohesion in Post-Apartheid South Africa,” featured presentations by Hiroyuki Hino, a visiting research scholar at the event host, the Duke University Center for International and Global Studies (DUCIGS), and economics professor Murray Leibbrandt (University of Cape Town). Charles Piot, a Duke professor of cultural anthropology and African and African American Studies, and Ada Umenwaliri, associate director of African Studies Center at the University… read more about Scholars Say Inequality Remains in Post-Apartheid South Africa »
The plan to address those differences by giving newborns a nest egg was first developed by professors William A. Darity, of Duke University, and Darrick Hamilton, of the New School. “Its real intent is to provide every young person with an asset that could enable them to actually build or accumulate wealth over the course of their adult lifetime,” Darity said in an interview. “It would not bring about the equalization of wealth but it certainly would improve [on] the degree of inequality that we’re experiencing now.” Read… read more about Cory Booker Wants 'Baby Bonds' For Every Newborn. How Would That Work? »
Professor William Darity speaks with ABC News about the Georgetown reparations case. WATCH read more about Leading Reparations Scholar Weighs in on Georgetown's Big Vote »
William Darity Jr is a professor of public policy at Duke University, and is one of the leading scholars on reparations in America. "I am refreshingly surprised that the reparations conversation has become so rich and expansive in the public arena recently," he says. "To see multiple presidential candidates talking openly about the issue means the conversation we are having is unlike any we have had on the topic before in the United States of America." Read More read more about The U.S. Students Who Want To Pay Slavery Descendants »
William Darity Jr., a professor of public policy at Duke University and one of the leading scholars on the economics of reparations, said he was “admiring” of the student efforts, while also pushing them to lay the groundwork for a nationwide effort that avoids “piecemeal” solutions. “We do need to move away from viewing this as a matter of individual guilt or individual responsibility that can be offset by individual payments, towards the recognition that this is a national responsibility and a national obligation that… read more about This Could Be The First Slavery Reparations Policy in America »
If there were such a thing as an academic rock star, Duke University’s Mark Anthony Neal would be one. Neal is a professor, hip-hop scholar, and author, who is a highly-sought after cultural critic. News outlets like the Huffington Postand WUNC regularly tap Neal, Chair of Duke’s African and African American Studies and founder of the Center for Arts, Digital Culture and Entrepreneurship, for cultural commentary – as do we. Read More read more about Revisiting Duke University's History of Hip-Hop Course »
Duke University professor William “Sandy” Darity and his onetime student Darrick Hamilton, currently serving as director of Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, have proposed an interim step dubbed “baby bonds.” The bonds, averaging $25,000 but rising to as much as $60,000 for the poorest children, would be federally managed to increase by a guaranteed annual rate of 2 percent. The cost of up to $100 billion would be less than 3 percent of the U.S. budget. As they explain to… read more about 'Baby Bonds' Could Help the U.S. Wealth Gap »
What he loves about Duke: As a professor in several departments, DeFrantz values Duke’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching and collaboration. ... “Duke is pushing the arts to an interdisciplinary focus,” DeFrantz said. “I can work in engineering and humanities and arts. It’s very appealing to work in several directions at the same time.” Read More read more about Blue Devil of the Week: Dancing Through Past and Future »
Popular culture experts Mark Anthony Neal and Natalie Bullock Brown share their thoughts on Hollywood’s treatment of a Durham story with host Frank Stasio in the latest installment of #BackChannel, The State of Things’ recurring series connecting culture and context. READ MORE read more about The 'Best of Enemies;' What To Do About Michael Jackson, and More »
Duke University professor of economics William Darity Jr. recently spoke on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal call-in show about reparations for the African descendants of slaves and the role the issue plays in the 2020 presidential campaign. Read More read more about Duke University Professor Shares His Guidelines For Reparations »
Democratic presidential hopefuls are talking about reparations for slavery. They’re talking seriously, but with few specifics. What would a reparations policy actually look like? LISTEN read more about The Cases For Reparations: How 2020 Presidential Candidates Address The Issue »
Duke University professor William Darity talked about reparations and the role they could play in the 2020 presidential campaign. He spoke via video link from Durham, North Carolina. WATCH read more about WATCH: William Darity on Reparations and Campaign 2020 »
In an interview, Darity acknowledged that almost none of these programs realistically constituted the sort of reparations his research has advocated, but suggested even the fact the debate existed at all should be seen as a positive advance. “Suddenly the term reparations is not verboten in the public square,” Darity said. “So that to me is a very significant change. I think that now there is a certain type of gravitas or credibility that it has, which leads the conversation to be a serious one, and I think that’s… read more about Reparations: Democrats Renew Debate Over How To Heal the Legacy of Slavery »
Charlie Piot, professor of cultural anthropology African and African American Studies, will succeed Mlyn as DukeEngage director. Piot launched and leads DukeEngage-Togo, a program where students conduct service projects such as teaching computer classes in Western African countries including Togo, Nigeria and Benin. Read More read more about Charlie Piot To Head DukeEngage »
"This is important, and the major reason I think it's important is that in the other significant instance of reparations being provided, for Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated unjustly, that program was the result of a commission," said William "Sandy" Darity, a Duke University professor who has written extensively on reparations. "There is some sentiment that this isn't a reparations program so it doesn't go far enough. But a commission could be a very important instrument in designing a program." Read More read more about Democrats Are Taking Reparations Seriously - And That's a Big Deal »
The simplest suggestion for a wealth transfer is the idea of baby bonds, advanced by economists William Darity and Darrick Hamilton. If done as a form of reparations, the program would simply endow every black child with a government trust fund, worth perhaps $21,000 to $47,000. The proposal would have to be modified to give some money to the parents, grandparents and other family members of the recipients, but that’s the basic idea. Read More read more about One Way to Make Reparations Work »
“You had this idea about the kind of black players Coach K recruited,” said Duke professor Mark Anthony Neal, chair of the African and African-American studies department. “Kind of a cut-and-dried, clean-cut type of black player … a lot seemed to be mixed-race. When it came to color, they were often light-skinned. It seemed like he had a pattern.” Neal hated Duke basketball for years, even after he became a professor there in 2004. “What framed my view of Duke was when they played UNLV and it was portrayed as these great… read more about 'Black Duke' Takes Flight »
“People are being asked to grapple with trauma, actual harm, inflicted on living human beings by a dead man who is not merely beloved. He was unparalleled,” said Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African and African American studies at Duke University, who saw his first Jackson concert in 1971. “It is, for many people a heavy, heavy lift to even consider muting Michael Jackson or changing the way we think about him to include predator,” said Neal, who wrote a book entitled “Songs in the Key of Black Life” and teaches a… read more about 'Leaving Neverland' and What To Do With Michael Jackson's Music »