Skip to main content
Menu
logo
BLACK IN BLUE: The Duke Sports &
Race Project

Main navigation

  • Overview
  • People
  • Courses
  • Events
  • News & Perspectives
  • Student Projects
four Duke women soccer players - three wearing Black Lives Matter shirts

 

 

Black in Blue: The Duke Sports and Race Project critically studies race and sports at Duke, within its geographic placement, and beyond. This faculty-led project has three pillars, with each examining the politics and histories of intercollegiate athletics and athletes, particularly in revenue-generating sports.

Learn More

Project Pillars

  • Public events/podcasts with researchers, activists, former and current athletes, and coaches
  • Undergraduate courses focused on race and sports
  • Workshops to engage in critical and constructive dialogue about experiences, and histories of Black student-athletes

Recent Event

A Critical Study of Big-Time College Sport

Duke-UNC Sports Symposium

Friday, November 10, 2023

Duke and UNC are premier academic institutions with (in)famous sports teams, a storied rivalry, and only a few miles separating them. This geographic proximity presents a unique opportunity for partnerships beyond the playing field. Because of the energy that annually surrounds both athletic programs and this ‘Battle of the Blues,’ faculty on both campuses were interested in coming together to analyze the dynamics that drive intercollegiate athletics.

During this symposium, we brought together a variety of speakers, including scholars, journalists, former and current athletes, and public policy practitioners, who are interested in the history, economics, and racial and gender politics of college sports. Across the four panels and a keynote, we invite you to question the role of intercollegiate athletics in higher education with us.

 

Featured Courses

FALL 2023
Sports and Society

CULANTH 151S

illustration of gymnasts

This course will critically examine the role that sports play in the modern world and our everyday lives. Sports are a universe of their own, bodily practices that involve complex choreographies of movement and coordination. Yet they are also always a reflection of society... read more

FALL 2023
Race, Sport & Education:
Duke Basketball

EDUC 290-01

Duke fans covered in blue paint yell, arms outstretched

This course uses Duke's athletic history, present and future to explore how Black intelligence is recognized and/or not recognized and the value of Black athletes' intellectual capacity in college athletics over time... read more

SUMMER 1 2023
Race, Power and Identity from Ali to Kaepernick

EDUC 220

newspapers with headlines about Ali

An exploration of historic and contemporary psycho-social and socio-cultural aspects of the African American sport experience. Examination of research that addresses the effect of physical differences, racial stereotyping, identity development, gender issues and social influences ... read more

Student Projects

Black female athletes collaged around Rubenstein Library sign
Turning the Invisible Visible: The History of Black Female Pioneers in Duke Sports
Noelle Fuchs, Matthew O’Stricker, Kendall Satcowitz, Lina Sinsheimer, Amber Smith
Grayson Allen, Christian Laettner and JJ Redick
Duke Basketball's White Villains: Myth and Reality
Grissim Anderson, Andrew Danowitz, Drew Greene, Justin Pickett
Mike Krzyzewski
Coach K: The Face of College Basketball
Blade Clarke, Justice Hatcher, Lucas Gonzalez, Elizabeth Balogun
athlete with basketball with "game changer" written on shirt
Name, Image, and Likeness and Its Ramifications for Student-Athletes
Sammy Cohen, Ryan Colon, Amanda Tuzzo, Amanda Padden
Duke athletics logo
The Finance of Duke Athletics
Alexander McMullen, Koby Cohen, Eli Baker, Brandon Lee, Jonta Robertson
Duke weight room
The Haves and the Have-Nots: Inequities Amongst Duke University’s Sports Teams
Jordan Laster, Shelsea Duran, Guillermo Zacarias Breuer, Lily Coll, Grant Farley
Group of people on steps
Asian-American & Latinx Student-Athlete Trailblazers at Duke
Lilly Ma, Malai Escamilla
Word "University" scratched out of "Duke University Athletics" title
The Athletic Divide: How Perceptions of ‘the Other’ Influence the On-Campus Gap Between Varsity Student-Athletes and Non-Athlete Students at Duke University
Emma Coleman, Isaiah Fisher-Smith, Tre Freeman, Madison Rhea, Wade Unger
Coach K and team doctor consoling injured basketball player
Broken Bones and Broken Identities: How Student-Athletes Cope with Injuries
Sara Rovit, Jordyn Oliver, Elijah Wroten, Malik Bowen, Hayden Rosenfeld
Duke football helmet
Life After Duke Football: An Investigation into the Student Athlete Employment Process
Jordan Castleman, Sayyid Stevens, Cam Bergeron
people holding Title IX signs
Battle of the Sexes: Gender Inequity in Duke Sports
Katie Newton, Brooke Schmidt, Aeneas Peebles, Amir Daley, Brendan Pernecky
lone football player squatting
The Unseen Struggles of Being a Student Athlete
Meredith Hutchinson, Hannah Steven, BJ Johnson, Mir Hagans, Chloe Schaefgen

See All Projects

NetID Login
  • Overview
  • People
  • Courses
  • Events
  • News & Perspectives
  • Student Projects