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 Affiliate Imari Smith published a paper in Social Science & Medicine on Racial and Gender Differences in Discrimination and Psychological Distress among Young Adults. Smith, doctoral candidate in the Duke University’s Joint Program in Sociology and Public Policy, was the lead author on the paper, which sheds light on the understudied negative effects…
Episode Summary: How exactly can we support Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurship in Durham, North Carolina, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic? In this episode of Voices in Equity, the official podcast of the Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, Dr. William “Sandy” Darity hosts a critical discussion on the…
Faculty Affiliate Dr. Lisa Gennetian published a paper in Nature that studies the effects of monthly cash transfers to low-income households. Gennetian, the Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies at the Sanford School for Public Policy, was the lead author on the paper, which found that families who received substantial cash transfers during the…
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…
