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.
Faculty Affiliate Nancy MacLean, Ph.D. was quoted in opinion article assessing the strategies behind Project 2025 based on her analysis in her 2017 book, Democracy in Chains. Her book identifies traces how Charles Koch and his network have redirected capitalism away from public regulation to allow a wealthy minority to rule. As Ned Barnett writes…
In a recent article for The Indian Express, doctoral fellow Arko Dasgupta reflects on Rabindranath Tagore’s timeless warning: “I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity.” Writing amid today’s surge of nationalist fervor and aggressive border politics, Dasgupta draws parallels to Tagore’s own apprehensions about nationalism’s mechanizing force on human relationships. Dasgupta urges readers…
This weekend, Arielle Solomon will graduate from Duke with a major in Marine Science and Conservations and a minor in Inequality Studies, a combination that displays her appreciation for both animal science and the humanities. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Solomon began her college journey at NYU, where she was studying international relations. “I originally wanted…
Founding Director William Darity Jr. co-authored a new literature review in The BMJ that directly addresses one of the most persistent critiques of reparations: the claim that no feasible plan exists. The proposal outlines direct monetary payments as the clearest economic measure of the cumulative and intergenerational effects of white supremacy. The article argues that…
Cook Center Director William A. Darity Jr. will be among the featured speakers at an upcoming public hearing hosted by the New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies (NYSCCRR) on Saturday, March 21st, 2026, in Staten Island, New York. The hearing, titled “Economic Development: Quantifying Harms,” is part of the Commission’s statewide effort to…
New research co-authored by Faculty Affiliate Sarah Gaither, Associate Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University, explores how something as routine as demographic forms can influence feelings of inclusion and identity among marginalized communities. Published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, the study—“Enumeration or Exclusion? Demographic Forms and Latine Identity”—investigates how demographic questions may…
