samuel dubois cook, first black tenured professor at duke
By Natalia Espinosa
Political scientist, educator and civil rights activist, Cook became Duke’s first tenured black professor and first to hold a regular faculty appointment at any predominantly white college in the United States in 1966.[1] Along with his scholarship and teaching, Cook was a civil rights leader. Cook helped form a community for black students and supported civil rights activism, including the Silent Vigil, what he described as a perfect combination of “idealism, realism, and humanism.”[2] Cook’s commitment to social justice during and after his time at Duke calls for a prominent monument.[3]
[1]. “About Samuel DuBois Cook,” The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, https://socialequity.duke.edu/about-samuel-dubois-cook.
[2]. Samuel DuBois Cook, “Spirit of the Vigil,” Duke Chronicle, February 20th, 1973
[3]. In 1997, Duke University established the Samuel DuBois Cook Society, and in 2006, Duke established a new postdoctoral fellowship in his honor in its Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences. The Ohio State University has established the Samuel DuBois Cook Summer Academy and the Samuel DuBois Cook graduate fellowship in Political Science.
[2]. Samuel DuBois Cook, “Spirit of the Vigil,” Duke Chronicle, February 20th, 1973
[3]. In 1997, Duke University established the Samuel DuBois Cook Society, and in 2006, Duke established a new postdoctoral fellowship in his honor in its Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences. The Ohio State University has established the Samuel DuBois Cook Summer Academy and the Samuel DuBois Cook graduate fellowship in Political Science.
