Duke Service-Learning Solidarity Statement

Duke Service-Learning denounces the ongoing violence against Black lives and the needless deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery among countless others. We recognize these killings are part of a historic and perpetual system of white supremacy and structural racism that systematically harms Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples on personal and institutional levels. We are in solidarity with the anti-racist activism of protestors around the world. We recognize that service-learning can reinforce the very power dynamics it seeks to disband – thus, we re-commit ourselves to deeply listening, learning, and advocating for all courses and partnerships to be infused with a racial equity lens. This means rejecting deficit framing in favor of asset-based frameworks rooted in solidarity and centering Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices in our field and other communities.

Please join us in our commitment to anti-racism by consulting the below resources, readings, trainings, and opportunities to support local organizations:

Resources and Readings

  1. Bonilla-Silva, E. (2017). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequity in America (5th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  2. Read the history of one of North Carolina’s largest plantations with enslaved people, Stagville, in Durham.
  3. Watch local North Carolinians and descendants of Black Wall Street founders share the history of Durham’s business community.
  4. Duke Office for Institutional Equity: Resources for Understanding and Confronting Racism and Its Impact
  5. Love, B. L. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press.
  6. Mitchell, T., Donahue, D.M., & Young-Law, C. (2012). Service-learning as a pedagogy of whiteness. Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(3), 612-629.
  7. Stewart, T. (2010). Problematizing service-learning: Critical reflections for development and action. Information Age Publishing.
  8. Anderson, C. (2016). White rage: The unspoken truth of our racial divide. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Trainings and Organizational Opportunities

  1. The Duke Teaching for Equity Fellows Program is accepting applications from faculty through this Wednesday, June 24. You can apply here.
  2. we are (working to extend anti-racist education), a local Durham-based organization, launched their fundraising campaign last week.
  3. The Equity Paradigm is offering a Virtual Racial Equity Cohort Learning Series in August.
  4. The Black Pearls Society, in association with the Racial Equity Institute, is convening a “Beyond This Moment” virtual series throughout June and July.

We are listening and deeply empathize with the pain, re-traumatization, and fatigue that accompany continued racist acts and statements. We recognize how these impact one’s mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

In solidarity,

Duke Service-Learning

David, Amy, Joan, Kathy, Ruth, and Kimmie