September-October | 2022

News & Updates

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New Duke Human Rights Center Website

Over the summer, the DHRC was busy transitioning to a new web platform. The new and improved DHRC website launched on September 21 and is fully up and running! Visit http://humanrights.fhi.duke.edu to see. If you have corrections or additions, please let Corin know at cmz12@duke.edu Visit our website

2022-2023 Student Interns New academic year, new student workers! The DHRC has a new team of three undergraduate Student Interns and one graduate student Communications Specialist. This year's student workers are: Rahel Petros '23: Major in International Comparative Studies (region focus on Africa), minors in Education and Cinematic Arts Yasaman Baghban '23: MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts Gargi Mahadeshwar '24: Major in Computer Science, Human Rights Certificate Sarah Holehouse '26: Major in Political Science, Human Rights Certificate

Spotlight

Recalling Warren County: Discussing the Birth of the Movement

In 1978, the state of North Carolina chose Warren County for a PCB-landfill site. Warren Country residents argued their county was targeted because it was 64 percent Black, the highest percentage of any county in the state. Numerous lawsuits failed to stop the state’s plans. In September 1982, as a last resort, the community turned to protest and civil disobedience with a lot of ire aimed at North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt. It was the first time nationwide that anyone was arrested and jailed for protesting dump trucks hauling toxic-laced dirt. Six weeks of peaceful demonstrations and more than 500 arrests didn’t halt the landfill. However, a voter-registration drive succeeded in getting the first Black majority on the Warren County Commission and Blacks into several other elected positions in November 1982. Subsequent studies pointed to a clear link between hazardous waste site locations and the surrounding racial makeup, leading the Rev. Ben Chavis to create the term “environmental racism.” Repeated citizen efforts prompted the state to detoxify the landfill, a process that took five years and was completed in 2003. The 1982 protests are now referred to as the “birthplace of the environmental justice movement.” Jenny Labalme

The 1982 Warren County protests saw people, independent of race, come together to combat systemic injustices and environmental racism. Those who joined the weeks of protest did not know a larger movement would launch from their fight for basic human rights. On September 14, 2022, a group of the original protesters reunited in Duke University's Penn Pavilion to reflect on their experience and discuss the future of the environmental justice movement. Panelists included moderator La'Meshia Whittington, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., Dollie Burwell, Wayne Moseley, Rev. William Kearney, Jenny Labalme, and Former Rep. Eva Clayton. Event partners include the Duke Human Rights Center at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, The North Carolina Black Alliance, The Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, The Warren County Environmental Action Team, and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke.

Watch the Recording

Environmental Justice in the Latinx Community

As part of Duke University's "Celebrating 40 Years of Environmental Justice" events, the DHRC organized a discussion between activist Bryan Parras (top left) and journalist/author Stephanie Elizondo Griest (bottom left) on September 29, 2022. Ana Ramirez (bottom right), a 2020 Duke alum, moderated the discussion. Elizondo Griest and Parras each told their personal stories of growing up in polluted communities in Texas, and how their experiences with environmental racism against Latinx populations led them to advocate for environmental justice across the U.S. As Parras stated, "We are all victims of a system made to target our communities." Elizondo Griest agreed and encouraged everyone, regardless of their profession, to fight for change. "Any job we have we can use it toward the path to justice," she said. A recording of the webinar will soon be made available on our YouTube channel.

The Transformational History of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center in Durham, NC Duke University’s Perkins Library currently features an exhibition entitled “The Transformational History of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center in Durham.”  This informational gallery highlights the development and importance of the Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center as an important hub in the struggle for human rights and civil rights in Durham since the 1960s. The exhibit aims to spotlight the decades-long struggle of this historic mosque to counteract structural racism in Durham. It focuses mainly on the center’s civic engagement, health, business, and education efforts. DHRC Executive Committee member Dr. Mona Hassan helped develop the exhibit, alongside Meg Brown, Naomi S. Feaste, Brittany Forniotis, and Najla McClain in cooperation with Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, with generous funding from the Office of the Provost, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and the Duke Human Rights Center. Dr. Hassan and Najla McClain held a special event for Duke Human Rights Certificate and Islamic Studies Certificate students on September 28. Students had a small-group discussion with Dr. Hassan and Ms. McClain and gained a deeper insight into the significance of the Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center in Durham. To read more about the exhibit, read our article here.

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The Duke Human Rights Center @ the Franklin Humanities Institute brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, staff and students to promote new understandings about global human rights issues.