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.
Senior Research Associate Adam Hollowell, PhD, and Associate in Research Kennedy Ruff published a new article in The Upper New, titled “Four ‘-ologies’ of Inequality Research.” In the article, which expanded upon a lecture Dr. Hollowell–the director of the Inequality Studies Minor–had delivered previously to the Hank and Billye Aaron Young Scholars Summer Institute–the summer program…
Cook Center DITE Fellow Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba recently published a paper in the American Economic Association’s (AEA) Paper and Proceedings that details how local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, under the threat of federal scrutiny, shifted their racially discriminatory policing practices. Rubalcaba, an assistant professor in the Carolina Population Center at the University of North…
Dr. William A. Darity Jr., the Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of the Cook Center at Duke University, recently shared his insights on the New York Reparations Commission’s first meeting in an article by City Limits. Dr. Darity emphasized that while efforts like this are important, the racial wealth gap in New…
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…
