TO THE EDITOR:
I woke up yesterday at Duke University to the news that a noose was found handing from a tree in Duke’s main social center. I, like many others, was disgusted and disappointed with my community. Within six hours, Duke’s Black Student Alliance organized a demonstration that drew hundreds of students.
As I recruited my friends from both UNC and Duke to join the rally, I was shocked with some of the responses I received. My friends asked me questions such as, “What exactly does the noose have to do with race?” and, “How are you sure that this was directed toward the black community?” I realized then that UNC and Duke’s white-dominated cultures have effectively erased a painful and important history from the minds of many, especially white students.
The ground UNC and Duke are built on is the same ground that only 80 years ago absorbed the blood of black citizens who were victims of mob violence, lynching, torture and rape.
This hate act is disgusting, but it is not a “Duke problem.” Students at both Duke and UNC are living on top of violent geographical history that we all share.
Let us, as UNC students, share the burden of reminding one and other, especially those of the white race, of our history of violence. Taking the time to remember a painful history is the least we can do to honor those who were murdered in the slow, jagged arc toward progress.
Monique LaBorde
Sophomore
Robertson Scholar
