Research

Displays celebrating Durham African American History

Advancing Social Equity Research

Within the Center’s rich interdisciplinary community, our research scholars pursue projects across various fields of inquiry as well as with researchers at Duke and scholars throughout the world.

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Research Themes

The Cook Center organizes its research, programmatic, and scholarship activities into the following domains:

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01

Class, Wealth, & Social Mobility

Documenting the magnitude of racial and ethnic disparities in wealth in the United States.
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02

Health Equity

Investigating the sociocultural, economic, and structural indicators of health to eliminate health-related racial/ethnic and gender disparities.
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03

Education Equity & Policy

Exploring the complex educational challenges facing various subgroups ranging from Pre-Kindergarteners to postsecondary students.
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04

Policing Enforcement & Justice

Advancing research on the mechanisms that produce and maintain inequities within the criminal legal system and its broader consequences on society.
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05

Environmental Justice

Focusing on the behavioral, social, cultural, and technological aspects of the global climate crisis for meaningful incorporation into environmental policy and decision making.
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06

Visual Narratives of Inequality

Amplifying marginalized voices, highlighting inequitable systemic practices, and advancing social justice in North Carolina and beyond. 
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07

Artificial Intelligence & Inequality

Understanding the ethical and sociopolitical stakes of technological developments, automated systems, and artificial intelligence.

Journal Articles

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The Multi-Caregiver Role and Its Relationship to Behavioral Adherence and Weight Among Treatment Engaged Black Women

Authors: Loneke T. Blackman Carr, Carmen D. Samuel-Hodge, and Deborah F. Tate Abstract: This study…

Isolation: an Alternative to the “Acting White” Hypothesis in Explaining Black Under-Enrollment in Advanced Courses

Authors: Dania V. Francis and William A. Darity Jr.  Abstract: In this paper we propose…
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Message Received? The Effect of Academic Socialization on NCAA Athletes’ Grades

Authors: Paul A. Robbins and Keisha Bentley L. Edwards Abstract: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)…
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Growing sense of social status threat and concomitant deaths of despair among whites

Authors: Arjumand Siddiqi, Odmaa Sod-Erdene, Darrick Hamilton, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and William Darity Jr.  Abstract:…

What Matters More, Maternal Characteristics or Differential Returns for Having Them? Using Decomposition Analysis to Explain Black-White Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality in the United States

Authors: Chantel Ramraj, Arjumand Siddiqi, Salimah El-Amin and Darrick Hamilton Abstract: Studies have found that…
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Consistently inconsistent: An examination of the variability in the identification of emotional disturbance

Authors: Kristin Scardamalia, Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, and Kairys Grasty Abstract: The federal definition of emotional…
Puerto Rico flag hanging in colorful alleyway

Bold Policies for Puerto Rico: A Blueprint for Transformative, Justice-Centered Recovery

Authors: Alan A. Aja, Stephen Lefebvre, William Darity Jr. , Reynaldo Ortiz-Minaya, and Darrick Hamilton Introduction:…
one missing puzzle piece in a large white puzzle

How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? The Missing Kerner Commission Report

Authors: Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, Malik Chaka Edwards, Cynthia Neal Spence, William A. Darity, Jr., Darrick…

Books and Book Chapters

With Faith in God and Heart and Mind: A History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity

Authors: Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, and Derrick P. Alridge Book…
W. E. B. Du Bois

Book chapter – Redress or Socialism? W. E. B. Du Bois’s Silence on Black American Reparations

Chapter Authors: James B. Stewart and William A. Darity, Jr. Book: The Oxford Handbook of…

Book Chapter – Considering Multiracial Youth: Identity Challenges and Health Outcomes

Authors: Brenda Straka and Sarah Gaither Abstract: Health professionals who care for children will find…
The Black Reparations Project

The Black Reparations Project: A Handbook for Racial Justice

Overview This groundbreaking resource moves us from theory to action with a practical plan for…
vital and valuable

Vital and Valuable: The Relevance of HBCUs to American Life and Education

Overview Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are a crucial element of higher education in…

Book Chapter – Stratification Economics: A Primer and an Explanation on Opposition to Affirmative Action

Chapter Authors: Lucas Hubbard and William A. Darity Jr. Book: Handbook on Economics of Discrimination…
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The Pandemic Divide: How COVID Increased Inequality in America

Overview As COVID-19 made inroads in the United States in spring 2020, a common refrain…
A dream defaulted book cover

A Dream Defaulted: The Student Loan Crisis Among Black Borrowers

About the book A Dream Defaulted explores how the student loan crisis disproportionately affects Black borrowers…

Reports, Briefs, and Essays

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Black Reparations and Child Well-Being: A Framework and Policy Considerations

Authors: Lisa A. Gennetian, Christina Gibson-Davis, & William A. Darity Jr. Journal: National Bureau of…

Gender Differences in Remote Learning amid COVID-19

Authors: Sungmee Kim and Tim Sass Publisher: Andrew Young School of Policy at Georgia State…

Teacher Recruitment and Retention Trends Across North Carolina and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors: Lauren Fox, Sara Howell, Ashley Kazouh, Elizabeth Paul, and Jessica Peacock Research Advisors: Keisha…

What the Durham Police Department Can Do to Enhance Safety and Earn Trust

Authors: Ajenai Clemmons Summary: This report contains the findings of an academic study Ajenai Clemmons…

Income Supplements versus Building Assets and the Racial Wealth Gap: Tax Policies

Authors: William A. Darity Jr, William Gale, Mónica García-Pérez, and Nora Cahill Executive Summary: The…

Understanding the Effects of Windfalls: What People Do with Financial Payouts, and What It Means for Policy

Authors: Katherine Rodgers, Sydney A. Grissom, Lucas Hubbard, and William A. Darity Jr. Abstract: What…
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Prison Hospital Data Is Omitted From Federal Data Sets

Authors: Michael Forrest Behne, Joshua A. Barocas, Josiah D. Rich, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein Abstract: Given…
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Setting the Record Straight on the Libertarian South African Economist W. H. Hutt and James M. Buchanan

Authors: William Darity Jr., M’Balou Camara, and Nancy MacLean Abstract: In their stormy response to…

Research News

Loneke Blackman Carr

New paper from Loneke Blackman Carr published in Eating Behaviors

Faculty Affiliate Loneke Blackman Carr, Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of…

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Sungmee Kim Authors Working Paper Highlighting Link Between Remote Learning and Increased Risk of Child Maltreatment

A new working paper by Sungmee Kim, Ph.D., Cook Center Postdoctoral Associate, sheds light…

New Book from Core Faculty Adam Hollowell and Keisha Bentley-Edwards Explores Disability Justice Through the Lens of Stratification Economics

The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity is proud to celebrate the release…

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Sarah Gaither co-authors new paper on racial ambiguity in Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Faculty Affiliate Sarah E. Gaither co-authored a paper in the Journal of Experimental Social…

from here to equality book 2

From Here to Equality one of Oklahoma’s bestselling books for week of May 25

The second edition of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the…

Professional headshot of Sungmee Kim

Sungmee Kim presents at the 2025 Triangle Economics of Education Workshop

On May 14, 2025, the Duke Center for Child & Family Policy hosted the…

Keisha Bentley-Edwards leads research to address kidney health disparities

Core Faculty Affiliate Keisha Bentley-Edwards led a research team in examining the way CKD…

Sarah Gaither headshot

Sarah Gaither co-authors chapter in Handbook of Experimental Social Psychology

Faculty Affiliate Sarah E. Gaither co-authored a chapter in the Handbook of Experimental Social…