Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture

04/01/2026

Last month, Phyllis Chesler and Robin Morgan, whose papers are housed in the Bingham Center, received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the International Law Conference on the Status of Women. In her acceptance remarks, Dr. Chesler said, "Thank you for recognizing my work. It means a great deal to me. As you know, what remains to be done will require many generations, many torch-bearers, in order to “bend the arc” of justice towards womankind. I am so grateful to have been part of this process for the last sixty years.”

  Both at home and abroad the rule of law and the judiciary are facing unprecedented attacks. These attacks on […]

01/06/2026

The Baldwin Scholar's Program annual lecture (Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 7pm, Rubenstein Arts Center, von der Heyden Studio Theater): "Is Diversity & Inclusion Over? Is Now Really the Time?" with Dr. Mary Frances Berry

01/06/2026

Upcoming event: "Freeing Joan Little: "Gender, Incarceration, and Struggles for Justice"
Date: Thursday, January 29th, 2026
Time: 5:00 – 6:30pm
Location: Smith Warehouse, Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall, Bay 4; 114 S Buchanan Blvd, Durham, NC

In 1975, a Black woman named Joan Little was acquitted of killing a white guard who had tried to r**e her in an eastern North Carolina prison. The folks who campaigned on Little’s behalf understood the webs of sexual violence, state violence, and racialized carcerality that ensnared her, and they linked her trial to other sites of existential concern for Black women’s—and everyone’s—liberation. 2025 marks the fiftieth anniversary of this landmark case that still offers lessons in the struggle for justice.

Join historian Christina Greene, Ph.D. ’96, and death penalty lawyer Shelagh Kenney to discuss what Joan Little tells us about gender, incarceration, and state violence then and now.

Adriane Lentz-Smith, Associate Professor of History and African & African American Studies at Duke University, will introduce and moderate the discussion.

In addition to the panel, an exhibition of items related to Joan Little, including one of her handwritten, illustrated poems, will be on display in Perkins Library during the month of January 2026.

Date: Thursday, January 29th, 2026 Time: 5:00 – 6:30pm Location: Smith Warehouse, Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall, Bay 4; 114 S Buchanan Blvd, Durham, NC In 1974, a twenty-year-old Black woman named Joan Little found herself facing the death penalty for killing a white guard who had tried to r**e her...

09/04/2025

Please join us for a zoom-based book launch on Thursday, September 11 at 7pm ET: "Becoming Trustworthy White Allies" with Melanie Morrison. In this collection of essays, lectures, and stories, antiracism facilitator Melanie S. Morrison outlines the actions white people must take to become trustworthy partners in the work of racial justice. Melanie is an author, speaker, and racial justice educator with thirty years of experience designing and leading transformational group processes. Please register here to get a link: https://rcwms.org/event/becoming-trustworthy-white-allies-melanie-morrisons-book-launch-sponsored-by-rcwms/

08/08/2025

It is with profound sadness that we share that Sallie Bingham passed away this week. She was a devoted supporter of women and girls, LGBTQIA+ communities, artists and writers, and of special collections and cultural heritage work. We are deeply grateful for Sallie's steadfast support and gracious care, and we offer our sincere condolences to her many friends and family.

A novelist and memoirist, she famously clashed with her brother, leading to the fall of a Kentucky publishing dynasty that her paternal grandfather established in 1918.

01/22/2025

Students wanted for Bass Connections project! Apply for 2025-2026 Project Team, "Activism, Music, and the Rosetta Reitz Archive": https://bassconnections.duke.edu/project/activism-music-and-rosetta-reitz-archive-2025-2026/

Apply here: https://bassconnections.duke.edu/project-teams/apply-2025-2026-project-team/
Deadline: February 10, 2025, 5 pm

Help rewrite history as part of the Bass Connections “Activism, Music and the Rosetta Reitz Archive” team. They’re looking for graduate and undergraduate students who are eager to research legal records, develop a design aesthetic, and participate in the creation and curation of interpretive texts related to the life and work of this feminist pioneer in the music industry.
Apply here: https://bassconnections.duke.edu/project-teams/apply-2025-2026-project-team/

01/14/2025

Mandy Carter and Mab Segrest will participate in a panel on "Durham at a Crossroads: the 1986 Mayoral Recall Battle" at the Durham County Library on Saturday, January 25. Register to attend: https://durhamcountylibrary.libcal.com/event/13822313

In June of 1986, Durham librarians created a Pride Month display of le***an and gay books and music in the main library downtown. They included an anti-discrimination week proclamation signed by Durham mayor Wib Gulley, which called for an end to unequal treatment of gay and le***an residents.

Shortly after the proclamation was made, anti-LGBTQ activists posted petitions all over town to recall the mayor for this action. Petitions in support of the mayor soon proliferated, and fierce debate appeared in editorials and letters to the editors of local newspapers. After a six week battle the recall effort failed. In June 1986, Durham held its first annual Le***an and Gay Pride March, “Out Today, Out to Stay." The march was a huge success with over 1,000 q***r folk and many straight allies.

01/13/2025

Celebrating S/HE and Remembering the Life and Work of Minnie Bruce Pratt on February 4, 2025, at 7 P.M. ET.
Join event co-sponsors Sinister Wisdom and Charis Books & More to celebrate the publication of S/HE by Minnie Bruce Pratt, with readings from the book done by a range of people who love the book and Pratt’s work. There will be a special moment to celebrate and remember Minnie Bruce and her life and legacy. Register for the Zoom event: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYuce2hrzMiGdzypVi7gFcuZFx7iEhI_OfP #/registration
Password: CLASSIC

01/03/2025

Congratulations, Ellie Smeal! On January 2, 2025 Duke alumna and longtime friend of the Bingham Center, Eleanor Smeal was one of twenty recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal awarded to those who have "performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice." The White House press release described Smeal's contributions this way: "From leading massive protests and galvanizing women’s votes in the 1970s to steering progress for equal pay and helping the Violence Against Women Act become law, Ellie Smeal forced the Nation to not only include women in political discourse but to value them as power brokers and equals. Her strategic vision over more than 40 years embodies the American pursuit to create a fairer, more just world." Full text of White House press release:

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden named twenty recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal. The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of

11/02/2024

Happy 50th anniversary to Charis Books and Charis Circle! We're excited to celebrate with you!

11/01/2024

On Monday, November 11 from 11:30-1 (lunch served!) musician, poet, and producer Shirlette Ammons will be in conversation with folksinger and Duke practitioner-in-residence, Tift Merritt about trail-blazing blues singer and "bulldagger" Gladys Bentley. More information including directions and parking here: https://fsp.duke.edu/events/shirlette-ammons-gladys-bentley/