About Us

The mission of Duke Decolonize, Dismantle & ReDesign is to engage graduate students at Duke University to provide an organizing space for students, faculty, community members, and more to join the movement to uproot long standing power imbalances in academia that continue to entrench colonial-era structural oppression. DDR aims to do this by restructuring dominant epistemologies and systems of learning; inviting and including marginalized groups to propose solutions to power imbalances, centering them within academia; healing relationships to promote community unity; and fostering academic partnerships that are increasingly diverse and inclusive. DDR operations are founded on a three-part framework centered in decolonization, dismantling systems of oppression and harmful hegemonic ideologies, and the redesign and reform of institutional structures.