“Point of Reckoning is an urgent text that offers hope as it dares to illuminate the past in order that we might not be condemned to repeat it.”
—George Yancy, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Philosophy at Emory University and author of On Race
About Ted
Theodore D. Segal is a lawyer and serves as a member of the board of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. He was previously board chair of the Children’s Law Center, the largest provider of pro bono legal services in the District of Columbia. He lives in Maryland.
About Point of Reckoning
On the morning of February 13, 1969, members of Duke University's Afro-American Society barricaded themselves in the first floor of the Allen administration building. That evening, police were summoned to clear the building, firing tear gas at students in the melee that followed. When it was over, nearly twenty people were taken to the hospital and many more injured. In Point of Reckoning, Theodore D. Segal narrates the fraught and contested fight for racial justice at Duke, from the enrollment of the first black undergraduates in 1963 to the events that led to the Allen building takeover.
Civil Rights at Duke Timeline
In the years prior to undergraduate desegregation at Duke University in 1963, pressure was building on the school to eliminate its racially exclusive admissions policy. Once this historic change occurred, a new battle began to force Duke to confront elements of Jim Crow persisting at the university. This struggle took place against the backdrop of the Civil Rights and Black student movements sweeping the country. The timeline highlights key dates in the decades-long fight for racial justice at Duke University.
Latest Blog Post
Last month, at the launch party for Point of Reckoning, I had the opportunity to answer questions about the book posed by Gisela Fosado, my editor at Duke University Press. You can watch the video of the Q&A below. If you have any of your own questions, please feel free to contact me here or…