The full report is available here

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  • Duke’s president, supported by the Board of Trustees, should publicly acknowledge the participation of many of the university’s founders, benefactors, trustees and faculty in the institution of slavery and the propagation of white supremacy, unfair labor practices, the sale of a lethal substance (tobacco) and the perpetuation of discrimination. This acknowledgement should come with an apology; 

​tell the truth in all of its complexity

  • Duke should convene a committee representing faculty, students, university archivists, administrators, staff and community members to plan a multi-year series that brings speakers, activists, films and art to campus and the broader Durham community to examine how others have thought about and used the past to acknowledge injustice. The purpose should be to educate and build a foundation to pursue equity, justice and activate change. Public events should vary, from small to large and in different venues and with different leaders, to best capture diverse constituencies and views. In all instances, the committee’s primary task should be listening and capturing information for its work.

  • This committee should solicit written or oral input from a broad range of stake-holders, making sure to put special emphasis on the opinions of staff and community members.
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  • Other areas of Duke’s history should be addressed in this committee’s work. They include the area’s Native American history and Duke’s relationship to those communities; the role of tobacco as a source of wealth, with its well-documented harm to human health; the history of Duke Campus Farm as a former plantation that used enslaved labor; and the environmental record of Duke Power, whose profits have contributed to the Duke Endowment.
  • The committee should revise the current naming policy, channeled through a single person, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees. We believe a new group made up of faculty, students and staff should have the power to pro-actively propose new names, name changes and memorial sites and that these proposals should be made to the Provost, who should be empowered to act in consultation with but not limited by trustees. Public criteria for naming should draw on the principles established by other universities and include questions like: Is a principal legacy of the namesake in support of or at odds with the educational mission of the university? Did the namesake advance society with their work, whether against controversy or supported by their peers? Did the university at the time of a naming honor someone for reasons that are fundamentally at odds with the educational mission and values of the university? 

  • This committee should prepare a report with recommendations on what steps the university should take, including investment in faculty and student recruitment, the construction of new sites, a pro- active naming policy, resource support for a digital tour of campus, orientation events and classes and a plan to improve signage and maps installed near walkways, to make the campus more welcoming.
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  • Once the committee has completed its work, faculty, students and staff should convoke a standing committee to monitor the implementation of recommendations, with the power to publicly call on university trustees and administrators to fulfill its commitments.

MEMORIALIZATION

  • In collaboration of the University Archives, Duke should set up an expanded, permanent, accessible and centrally-located exhibit about its past, including information on the university’s connections to slavery, white supremacy, unjust labor practices, the health effects of tobacco, discrimination against specific groups as well as examples of activism that reflect our shared values.
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  • Duke should rename the Carr Building and East Residence Halls, preserving the record of their former names as part of an education exhibit in those buildings and as part of a larger, permanent exhibit. There is ample precedent in the removal of the Aycock name and other changes, among them the decision to replace East Campus Science Building (old Art Museum) with the name of pioneering anthropologist Ernestine Friedl.​
  • Duke should revise official histories to include specifics about the university’s ties to slavery and white supremacy. This should be posed in the context of a vibrant community tackling tough issues, with the goal of shaping a truly equitable and just community. In the short term, this would mean providing resources for brochures, web content and a virtual tour. Duke can take inspiration from initiatives like the Monuments Lab in Philadelphia and Mic’s Black Monuments Project to engage the creativity of the Duke and Durham communities to visualize a changing campus.​

  • Duke should include this information in orientation materials for new students, staff and faculty, and ensure that all have access to information about the past, including Duke’s record of activism and engagement for positive change.

  • Duke should partner with North Carolina Central University, the City and County of Durham and the Durham Herald Sun to sponsor a competition for artists and others to propose new memorials to unrepresented or underrepresented stories from its past.

education AND RESEARCH

  • Duke should sponsor an annual lecture and day of remembrance around these themes, including cross-campus and community engagement, discussion and attendance, including staff, to encourage on-going and evolving discussion of these issues.
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  • Duke should find ways to connect and expand initiatives on slavery, white supremacy and discrimination, and support scholars engaging around issues of public memory, memorialization and human rights.

  • Duke should establish fellowships for post-graduate and senior scholars to research Duke’s history and the history of North Carolina, with the purpose of bringing to light unknown or under-represented facets of this history.
  • Duke should expand funding for undergraduate research into Duke’s past, building on successful initiatives like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Legacy Project, Duke History Revisited and Story +; support an annual symposium to present research on Duke and North Carolina; and establish an annual prize for best paper or project.
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  • Duke should fund public programming and outreach by this Center that includes events that are held in Durham communities. 

REPARATIONS

  • Duke should expand funding for the Program in Education, with the goal of improving North Carolina-specific curricula and contributing to the improved education of the state’s children, with the hope that this creates models for national use.
  • Duke should endeavor to implement and maintain high standards in regard to investments and gifts, recognizing that in the past the university benefitted from slavery, white supremacy, unfair labor ​​practices and discrimination. ​
  • With support from the Duke Endowment, Duke should support a scholarship program to Duke that covers the full cost of tuition, room and board for the children of hourly employees.
  • Living arrangements for on-campus students continue to reinforce racism. Duke should abolish the policy of giving fraternities preferential housing and carry out a serious inquiry into how some Greek organizations continue to discriminate during rush based on race. Housing should be apportioned equitably to independent students and selective living groups. 

community engagement

  • Duke should partner with the city and county of Durham to create a third-space location where the university can partner in research, education and public events.

  • Duke should continue to expand its partnership with Durham, working with communities to ensure affordable housing, health care, access to education and a living wage.​
  • In former tobacco buildings, Duke should honor the memory of tobacco workers with permanent exhibits and public art that highlights their ​contributions to the wealth that helped found the university. ​