Newsletter | November 2025

Upcoming Events - DHRC News - From the Blog - News From Our Partners

OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

November 21 @ 4-6pm (drop-in): Friday Kickback + Right to Rest: CommuniTEA 100 Bryan Center (Duke Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity*)

*co-sponsored by Duke Human Rights Center

DHRC NEWS

Juan E. Méndez Book Award 2026

Submissions period closes November 30

The Méndez Award recognizes an outstanding book of non-fiction, including graphic works, published in English on human rights, democracy and social justice in contemporary Latin America.

The award is given in conjunction with the Human Rights Archive at Duke's Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

More info about submission process ->

Human Rights Courses in Spring 2026

Over 20 courses offered next semester!

Visit our Human Rights Courses webpage for the full list (including instructors and cross-list info), or search subject RIGHTS in DukeHub.

THIS WEEKEND: Immigration Justice Weekend

Two vertical banners with educational information about refugee resettlement displayed at the foot of stairs in a community center building

The ERUUF (Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship) Latin American Migrant Action Group is hosting an Immigration Justice Weekend on November 14-16 in coordination with the Community Church of Chapel Hill UU and Judea Reform Congregation of Durham. The weekend will feature Cristosal, a Central American NGO whose mission is to defend human rights and promote democratic rule of law in Central America.

The weekend goals are to learn about the roots of migration from Central America to the US and how this has become a global issue, and to identify local advocacy opportunities in order to affect political change. DHRC's Refugee Resettlement in the Triangle banner exhibit (pictured above) will be on display throughout the weekend!

Events are open to all, but registration is required for the workshops and the fundraising dinner. Volunteers are needed to make the weekend a success! Register to attend and/or volunteer here ->

GALLERY: Seeking Human Rights for the Dead

A woman and man sit in chairs side by side, speaking into microphones.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this week at the Seeking Human Rights for the Dead: The Case of Massachusetts event, sponsored by the Human Rights for the Dying and Dead Initiative!

Stay tuned for more events from this initiative in the spring!

Man standing at a podium in front of a slideshow that says "They say you judge a society by how you treat your dead. If that's the case in Massachusetts, we're in a pretty bad society."

From the Duke Human Rights Blog

When I Say Africa: Dr. Kathryn Mathers on Western Stereotypes of Africa

When I say Africa, what ideas or images come to mind? Dr. Kathryn Mathers, Associate Professor of the Practice in International Comparative Studies and Cultural Anthropology at Duke looks at how forms of media and expression construct and perpetuate global perceptions of Africa. As producer of the documentary, “When I Say Africa,” she dives into the nuances of how this question is answered in the Western world versus in Africa by focusing on images and ways the continent is portrayed in American media.

White woman with wavy blonde hair smiling at the camera

Keeping reading on the Duke Human Rights Blog ->

From the Duke Human Rights Blog

Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Holehouse

young white woman with red hair standing in front of the US Capitol smiling

"Before ever stepping foot on campus, I knew it was a priority of mine to integrate the study of human rights into my political science education. So, when I learned about Duke's robust Human Rights Center, it made me confident that Duke was the right school for me. In many ways, DHRC was a magnet that drew me to Duke in the first place."

Keeping reading on the Duke Human Rights Blog ->

Alumni Spotlight: Brianna Patterson

One of our Human Rights Certificate Class of 2025 graduates, Brianna Patterson, recently published a StoryMap website titled, "Migration and Borders," chronically her travels through the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Türkiye. Her trip was funded by the The Gerald Unks Undergraduate Travel Fellowship and focused on how conversations about migration compare to those in the U.S. and how refugee and immigrant communities navigate and resist discrimination.

Explore the StoryMap site here ->

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

Pride and Preservation

Preservation Durham and Pauli Murray Center

This past weekend, Preservation Durham launched their first “Pride and Preservation” tour of Durham’s Queer history yesterday to a sold out crowd that came out to support both Preservation Durham and Pauli Murray Center. Julia Lasure, their Membership and Programs coordinator, started researching this tour in her final semester at NCSU last spring. It’s been in the works for almost a year, but long overdue for the Durham community. Unfortunately, many of the stops on the tour are no longer standing or were service or social spaces that no longer exist in a permanent physical location. You can read and learn more about why recognizing these places and keeping them in our collective memory is so important by now taking the digital tour on OpenDurham or calling Preservation Durham to schedule a private tour.

Preservation Durham also partnered with the Duke Human Rights Center to create a zine about the importance of preserving Queer spaces. Two incredible, local artists, Kelsey Graywill of Hyperlocal Durham and cartoonist Meg Lentz, designed the zine. You can find a digital copy of the zine on OpenDurham!

CONNECT WITH US

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If you'd like to reach out directly to the Duke Human Rights Center team, email us at dhrc.fhi@duke.edu.