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40 Years After the 1968 Duke Vigil

Activities to commemorate vigil held in wake of King assassination

Students in April 1968 hold a vigil on the Duke campus following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

A group of Duke students plans to mark the 40th anniversary next week of Martin Luther King's assassination with two days of activities commemorating Duke University's response to the tragedy.

For nearly a week beginning April 5, 1968, students, staff and faculty staged a silent vigil and peaceful protest in support of labor rights and racial equality on campus. Food services and housekeeping employees went on strike, while students boycotted dining halls and negotiated with Duke's president in support of workers seeking higher wages and the right to organize a union. More than 1,000 people slept on the quad during the vigil.

On Tuesday and Thursday next week, students enrolled in the public policy course "Historical Perspectives on Public Policy" plan to link their history lessons to today, by displaying signs and posters and engaging fellow students in dialogue about race, equity, activism and the connections between past and present. The class is seeking involvement from various student groups and employees, whom they expect to join them in front of the West Duke Union building from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on April 1 and 3.

"Our goal is just to start a conversation and to put this event in context with Duke today," said, Brian Fitzpatrick, one of the students helping plan the commemorative activities.

Aaron Markham, another organizer, said, "We want to ask, "What would you be willing to sleep out on the quad for today? What's the status of race relations at Duke now? "

Though students are sometimes labeled as apathetic, many are actively engaged, Markham said. For example, two years ago students organized events to focus attention on the crisis in Darfur. Previously, student activism prompted the Duke administration to begin a process of divesting from its investments in South Africa.

Although race has become a focus of the ongoing presidential campaigns, the students emphasize their activities are nonpartisan and locally focused. For students, focusing on issues within their university makes them concrete and immediate, Fitzpatrick said.

"The vigil itself was a critical moment in the political maturation of thousands of Duke students, employees and faculty," said public policy and history professor Robert Korstad, whose course prompted the commemorative activity, said. "It's a history that people on campus today need to appreciate and understand."

Not only did it gain national attention Sen. Robert Kennedy sent a telegram of support to the students and folk singer Joan Baez spoke to the rally it also set in motion a series of events that changed the university, Korstad said.

"It changed how students respond to issues and how the administration responds to their concerns. It helped spark the effort that led to the merging of the women's college and Trinity College, and was followed by the takeover of the Allen Building a year later."