The Samuel DuBois Cook Center is a scholarly collaborative that studies the causes and consequences of inequality and develops remedies for these disparities and their adverse effects.
Jaelyn Nixon didn’t plan on becoming a public policy scholar. She didn’t plan on teaching high school students research methods, either. But then again, her path has never really followed a straight line. What has stayed consistent is her curiosity. “I knew I wanted to study people,” says Nixon, a returning instructor to the Hank…
For Shamia Truitt, teaching is far more than a career, it is a calling rooted in service, creativity, and a steadfast commitment to equity. Throughout her more than two decades in the classroom, Truitt has championed a holistic, student-centered philosophy that honors the complexity of her students’ lives. Today, as a 7th grade teacher at…
Once a student in the Hank and Billye Suber Aaron Young Scholars Summer Research Institute, Oyinkan Ajasa has come full circle, returning this summer as a teaching assistant with years of study, community work, and teaching experience at her disposal. “It feels surreal to be back in this space,” Ajasa says. “This program gave me…
Founding Director William A. Darity Jr. was interviewed for a Forbes Talk by Ali Jackson-Jolley to discuss what economic freedom looks like in 2026. Dr. Darity is one of the leading voices in academia advancing the case for Black reparations in the U.S. He co-authored From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the…
A recent feature highlighted how Kisha N. Daniels, associate professor of the practice in education, continues to expand the reach of her service‑learning course, The Critical Pedagogy of Hip Hop, through community‑centered partnerships with Durham Public Schools. The story follows a semester‑long collaboration between Daniels’ Duke students and 11th graders at Jordan High School, culminating…
A study coauthored by faculty affiliates Joaquin Alfredo‑Angel Rubalcaba and Alberto Ortega explore the effectiveness of worker‑driven social responsibility programs on infant health outcomes in migrant farmworker communities. Published in Demography, the research examines whether the Fair Food Program, a worker‑rights initiative supported by corporate premiums, has had measurable health impacts on the communities it…
