Six Days in April
On 40th anniversary of the silent vigil, WDBS recordings capture one of Duke's most significant moments
40 years ago this weekend, on April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Duke students mourned King's death and felt a need to memorialize him by making changes to Duke's policies. 350 to 450 Duke students marched to University House, President Douglas Knight's residence, to present him with four demands related to civil rights and non-academic employee wages. Knight did not agree to the demands, and about 200 students remained in the public part of the house for two days.
The protest never was violent, but the sit-in at the president's house took its toll on President Knight. Still suffering from a months-long battle with hepatitis, Knight became exhausted and was hospitalized. On Sunday, April 7, the vigil moved to the main quad in front of Duke Chapel.
The campus radio station, WDBS, regularly broadcast from both University House and later the vigil. More than six hours of recordings from the vigil are now stored in the University Archives, where they provide an audio record of one of the university's most important events. (See below)
Organizers reminded participants that it was to be a "silent vigil" and that there would be no discussion between speakers. Click here to see the ground rules for participation in the vigil.
At its peak, the vigil attracted as many as 1,500 participants. Click here to see the Chronicle front page from Monday, April 8.
The vigil attracted folk signer Joan Baez and her husband, David Harris. The two were on a national speaking tour about the war in Vietnam, and some students questioned whether they were attempting to move the focus of the event from campus working conditions. Mostly, however, they received a warm reaction from students.
In the end, the vigil affected change. On Wednesday, April 10, Board of Trustee Chair Wright Tisdale told students that the university would raise the university minimum wage. The statement marked a turning point in the situation, and students then ended the vigil by singing "We Shall Overcome."
First Person Voices
In 1998, Duke Magazine asked some of the principals in the vigil to recall the events of April 1968. Among the contributors were William Griffith, Doug Knight, student leader Margaret "Bunny" Small and others. Click here to read their memories.