Middle-school students in a historically black neighborhood near Duke’s campus are digging into the community’s roots in a summer enrichment program sponsored by Duke’s Office of Durham and Regional Affairs.

Trudi Abel, a professor in Duke’s history department, and Casey Dunn, a Duke undergraduate, are helping the 11 seventh- and eighth- graders from Carter Community School’s summer program on the Walltown Neighborhood History Project. (WNHP).

Walltown, a small neighborhood north of East Campus, was established in the late 1800s by George Wall, an African-American staff member of Trinity College (now Duke University) who relocated to Durham after the college’s move from Randolph County.

“There is a wealth of information available about middle class African-Americans living in Hayti [a famed Durham neighborhood] during the 1930s, particularly on the Fayetteville Street corridor, but there isn’t as much available for Walltown (West Durham) and its African-American working class residents,” Abel said.

The program, which lasts five weeks, is a part of DukeEngage Durham, which connects Duke undergraduates with immersive service projects. 

Read the story in its entirety here.

The DukeEngage in Durham group has gotten its blog up and running and is definitely worth a read.  This veteran program, dating back to the summer of 2007, continues to be the largest DukeEngage program, attracting students who are interested in internship-style service experiences among myriad non-profits benefiting the Durham community.