In the late 1960s, the world was experiencing a time of change. Nowhere was the movement of nonviolent protest more prevalent than at Duke University and its surrounding Durham community. Previously considered a university of privileged white students disconnected from a nation of protesting campuses, events such as the Silent Vigil of 1968 and the multiple Allen Building Takeovers forged new relationships between Duke, Durham residents, and the national arena.

How do we memorialize these powerful memories of protest today? How do these spaces of protest reflect their histories – or not? Are current community members who walk along the Main Quad or through the Allen Building today aware of their histories, and what identities do they attribute to them? Finally, how do we remember and forget spaces within the Durham community that were everyday icons of segregation, but are not tied to news-worthy collective memories of protest? These are questions I hope to explore through this project.

Photo Gallery - 1960s, Durham Civil RIghts Heritage Project. Online.

All documents/photos labeled as from the Duke University Archives on this website are from the collection of the Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, Durham, NC. Do not reproduce, redistribute, post online, or otherwise reuse any photos, documents, videos, text, or other material on this website without permission.

Header photo credit: (left) Anonymous. Vigil, Signs, 1968.1968. Duke University Archives, Durham, NC. Retrieved April 2012 from: “Duke Yearlook”: Flickr. Online.

(right) Morr, Megan. RHB at sit-in. 2012. Office of News & Communications, Durham, NC. Retrieved April 2012 from: “Donna Brazile on King’s Unfinished Work,” Duke Today. Online.