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.
Founding Director William A. Darity Jr. gave a comment in a New York Times article discussing recent development in California’s efforts towards reparations. Earlier this month, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a series of bills that would have given descendants of enslaved Africans preference in college admissions, home loan assistance, and restitution for property seized…
Faculty Affiliate Kisha Daniels, Associate Professor of the Practice in Education at Duke University, and Duke undergraduate Selena Collins were recently featured on the Duke Trinity podcast, Duets, for their collaborative service-learning course, Critical Pedagogy of Hip Hop. The course connects Duke students with middle and high schoolers across Durham Public Schools to explore education,…
Former Postdoctoral Associate and The Pandemic Divide contributor Melissa Scott recently published an op-ed in INDY Week reflecting on Hurricane Helene and its ties to the climate crisis. In the piece, Dr. Scott shares her experience staying in her family’s cabin in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains where she and her young son witnessed the…
Faculty Affiliate Carliss Chatman, Professor at SMU Dedman School of Law, was quoted in a story by Marketplace examining how companies are quietly rebranding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The article explores how some corporations are scaling back or reframing public-facing DEI language amid political scrutiny. And, that the broader landscape is more nuanced…
February 20, 2026 — A new first-of-its-kind study of nearly 3,000 adults in New York City finds significant inequities in wealth and health outcomes across the 11 most common racial and ethnic groups, showing that Black and Latino New Yorkers have less wealth and unfairly worse health outcomes compared to others. Conducted in June 2024 by…
Faculty Affiliate Omer Ali is an Assistant Professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh, and previous postdoctoral fellow a the Cook Center. Ali is the lead researcher on a new article published in Regional Science and Urban Economics this month examining the relationship between race and home values in Durham, North Carolina. The study…
