Student Activism at Duke University

On November 13, 1967, African-American students organized the Allen Building Study-In to protest the use of segregated facilities, like country clubs, by Duke student organizations. 

The Associated Students of Duke University (ASDU, precursor to today’s Duke Student Government) conducted a student-wide referendum in early November of that year on a proposed ban on the use of such facilities, but this motion was defeated. Frustrated with the lack of action by the student body and the administration, the students issued a statement and demands on November 10, and three days later entered President Douglas Knight’s office, staying for seven hours.

On November 17, just four days after the Study-In, Knight issued a statement in which he extended the existing policy to cover all student groups, in addition to faculty and staff groups.

Campus Publications

• The Duke Chronicle: Includes coverage of the campus referendum and the Study-In. Issues of the Chronicle from this time period may also be accessed online.

• The Chanticleer: The 1968 edition of the Chanticleer (which has been digitized and is available online) includes some photographs of the Study-In (see pages 135-136)

• Legacy, 1963-1993: Thirty Years of African-American Students at Duke University: This volume (also digitized and available online) provides helpful contextual information for understanding the Study-In. Note that it refers to the protest as the Hope Valley Study-In (as the segregated Hope Valley Country Club was a popular venue for student organization events).

Related Websites and Online Resources:

• Several photos of the protest are available in the "Allen Building Study-In" album on the Duke University Archives' Flickr site. (Originals of these photos can be found in the University Archives Photograph Collection, noted below.)

Photograph and Audio/Visual Collections