WELCOME
After two years of pandemic disruption, it has been so satisfying to have a summer of researcher visits and vacations. Classes have returned to the Rubenstein at nearly pre-pandemic levels, and we are embracing opportunities for in-person events.
This issue celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture. Over the past year, a series of events explored the scholarship based on the Center’s rich collections and invited Black archivists to share their experiences. A new annual tradition—Black Lives in Archives—welcomed students and community members to come and explore these collections for themselves.
Also featured here are two powerful exhibitions. “Nuestra historia, nuestra voz: Latinas/os/es/x en Duke” was initiated and developed by students under the guidance of Professors Cecilia Marquez and Joan Munné and Head of Exhibition Services Meg Brown and Assistant University Archivist Amy McDonald. Even as the students uncovered this untold history, they created a deeper sense of community among themselves. “Witness to Guantanamo,” our first exhibition at the downtown Power Plant Gallery, brought viewers face-to-face with the men and women who lived and worked at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base over the past twenty years. The exhibit is based on the extensive video collection created by Peter Honigsberg, which is now available through the Rubenstein’s digital collections portal.
Finally, in New and Noteworthy, you can learn about recent acquisitions by and about LGBTQ+ authors, which join our growing Gender and Sexuality History holdings emphasizing literature, political activism and publishing.
I’d like to thank Harry H. Harkins, Jr., T’73 for his generous sponsorship of this issue. We look forward to returning to print for the Winter issue.
I wish you all the best as the new academic year begins.
