Monuments, murals and memory: The racism of 'greatness' at Duke
On Sept. 27, I assembled in Duke Chapel with other students, faculty and employees for Founders’ Day Convocation. Wearing my Sunday best and watching robed importance file past me in ceremonious procession, I thought back to a contrastingly undignified campus incident from a few days before, when a student-painted mural celebrating Latinx Heritage Month was defaced. Confronted now with a display of Duke’s institutional greatness, I could not reconcile it with the disappointing message of unbelonging directed against Latinx students.