5 Free Things to Do at Duke in February 2025

Learn about politics, Black history, pop music and more on campus this month

A collage featuring musical performers, and guest speakers.

Campus life at Duke will be in full swing in February as lectures and musical events offer community members a chance to learn about politics, pop music and more. See how you can enjoy world-class performers in campus venues and hear the stories of compelling and often-overlooked figures in history.

During the academic year, the Working@Duke editorial team searches the Duke Event Calendar and elsewhere each month to find five free things to do at Duke. Check back in March for the next batch of events.

February 6 – An Evening with Jamelle Bouie

Join award-winning New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie for a discussion of the 2024 presidential election and the historic nature, impact and implications of its outcome.

The event, which is organized by the Duke Department of History’s History Hub, will begin at 6 p.m. in Reynolds Industries Theater and is free and open to the public.

February 12, 13 – Black History Month Lectures

The Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture welcomes Nontombi Naomi Tutu as its Black History Month speaker. The daughter of Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nontombi Naomi Tutu grew up under apartheid in South Africa and became a human rights advocate and a champion of truth and reconciliation. Tutu’s speech will take place at 5 p.m. on February 12 in Penn Pavilion. Learn how you can register to attend. From 5-7 p.m. on February 13, the Trent History of Medicine Lecture Series resumes with a symposium on the “Remarkable Stories of American Black Surgeons in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries.” The event, which takes place at the Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room in Rubenstein Library, will feature researchers Jill Newmark, Margaret Humphreys

February 14 –  Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music

In 2016, playwright and performer Taylor Mac debuted an ambitious 24-hour musical that told the stories of marginalized populations throughout American history through the popular music they helped create.

The 2023 concert film that captured an abridged version of the marathon 2016 show will be shown at 7:30 p.m. at the Griffith Film Theater.

February 15 – Ciompi at Duke: a Collaboration

The Ciompi Quartet will celebrate the creativity found within Duke by performing compositions from faculty members.

At a special show at 7:30 p.m. at Baldwin Auditorium, the quartet will perform music composed by Mary D.B.T. and James Semans Distinguished Professor of Music Composition Stephen Jaffe, Professor of Music Scott Lindroth, Professor of the Practice of Music Anthony Kelley and Associate Professor of Music John Supko.

February 27 – Jazz Vespers with Branford Marsalis

Combining the ancient Christian ritual of evening vespers services with jazz and gospel music, the Jazz Vespers events have become a beloved tradition at Duke University Chapel. At 7 p.m., the Duke Jazz Vespers group will perform and be joined by guest artist Branford Marsalis.

Marsalis, an acclaimed saxophonist, composer and bandleader who led the Tonight Show Band in the early 1990s, is a longtime Durham resident.

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