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. “Sandy” Darity, Jr. is cited in The New Yorker for his co-authored work with economist Darrick Hamilton on the Baby Bonds proposal. The article contrasts their proposal with a new savings account initiative proposed by President Donald Trump and House Republicans. The Darity-Hamilton Baby Bonds plan, developed in 2010, would establish…
At the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, we believe that equity-driven work is not just about the research we produce but the people who shape it. This summer, we celebrate the remarkable journeys of our community members who are transitioning into new roles, programs, and stages of life. Their contributions have left a…
A new working paper by Sungmee Kim, Ph.D., Cook Center Postdoctoral Associate, sheds light on a troubling consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s shift to remote learning: a rise in severe child maltreatment that went largely undetected by schools. Titled “The Unintended Cost of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Child Maltreatment,” the study is part of…
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…
Keisha Bentley-Edwards, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University, was recently featured on the podcast Questions You Didn’t Ask, hosted by Niasha Fray. In the episode, “What if your zip code determined your health, wealth, and life expectancy?”, Dr. Bentley-Edwards and entrepreneur/community leader Farad Ali explore the deep ties between economic justice and health. They…
Faculty Affiliate Carliss Chatman, Professor at SMU Dedman School of Law, co-authored a commentary in Bloomberg Law with Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci examining the governance challenges behind Disney’s reversal on suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! The authors argue that such “whiplash” decisions highlight the risks of treating corporate values as flexible rather than foundational. They emphasize…
