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.
Cook Center Postdoctoral Associate Will Damron was recently published in the Explorations in Economic History Journal. His research explores a newly-collected dataset covering manufacturers in North Carolina in the early 1900s to examine the effects of electrification at the establishment level. In this paper, Damron studies the gains from electrification and the effects on workers…
DURHAM, N.C. – The Black-white health gap is one of the most striking examples of the depths of racial inequality in the United States. Why does it persist? A new paper from researchers at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University investigates—and refutes—a popular argument for the causes of this disparity….
Founding Director, William “Sandy” Darity, discussed the potential racial and social harms of a nearly all white presidential cabinet on the Tavis Smiley Podcast. He acknowledges that while representation matters, it does not inherently guarantee policies that advance equity. I don’t think that visual representation is a sufficient basis for making a judgement about any…
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…
