HISTORY OF COALITION

The Duke Divest Coalition (DDC) is a student-led coalition at Duke University. Our mission is to advocate for Palestinian liberation and an end to Israeli apartheid. Our roots are deeply intertwined with a history of student and worker organizing, echoing the voices of those who protested against U.S. imperialism in Vietnam and Iraq, who fought for Black liberation by seizing the Allen Building in 1969, who rallied against Duke’s investments in apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, who advocated for campus workers’ rights through the occupation of the Allen Building in 2016, and who championed transformative institutional change by disrupting President Price’s Alumni Address and establishing the People’s State of the University in 2018. We recognize that the Palestinian liberation movement is intricately interconnected with a network of liberation movements worldwide. As we move forward, we welcome and actively seek to collaborate with other groups, inviting them to join our coalition and contribute to our collective efforts toward justice and freedom.

MISSION

The Duke University Divest Coalition is a student-led coalition of Duke University undergraduate, graduate, staff, faculty, and alumni groups devoted to a liberated Palestine and an end to Israeli apartheid. We demand that Duke University immediately address Israel’s ongoing human rights violations in Palestine by taking action to:

1. disclose university-wide assets,
2. divest financial assets from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, occupation, and apartheid in Palestine,
3. strengthen Duke’s ethical investment policies,
4. boycott academic and institutional partnerships with institutions in Israel,
5. publicly call for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and protect free speech, and
6. reinvest in Palestinian cultural institutions, displaced Gazan students, the city of Durham, and all university workers.

We seek an end to all interlocking systems of oppression through collective action and solidarity with oppressed people worldwide. For further details, take a look at our demands page.

COALITION GOALS (how to achieve MISSION)

• Advocate for DDC Demands and coordinate direct action: Plan and execute direct action events and advocacy campaigns to pressure Duke to take immediate steps towards implementing our demands
  by organizing protests, petitions, and letter-writing campaigns targeting university decision-makers. Coordinate with local media to amplify the DDC’s message.
• Raise awareness and mobilize support: Organize educational events, social media campaigns, and outreach efforts to raise awareness about the DDC’s goals and gather support from the university community. Reach out to Duke University undergraduate, graduate, staff, faculty, and alumni groups to join the coalition.
• Build community: Foster connections and collaboration among coalition members, student groups, faculty and staff allies, and community organizations to strengthen collective efforts through skill- building workshops to build relationships, share resources, and coordinate actions across organizations.
• Build, research, and curate documentation archive: Create a centralized archive of resource materials on
  1. past and ongoing divestment initiatives,
  2. the latest databases of companies that consistently, knowingly, and directly facilitate and enable human rights violations and violations of international law as part of Israel’s prolonged military occupations, apartheid, and genocide, and
  3. Duke University investments, policies, and practices relevant to the DDC’s objectives for advocacy purposes.

STRUCTURE (how the work & labor is split up)

Steering Committee Structure

The Steering Committee (SC) is the backbone of the Duke Divest Coalition. They are responsible for ensuring that the decisions, policies, and processes agreed upon by the DDC are implemented, evaluated, and aligned. The SC provides leadership, guidance, and coordination to advance the DDC’s mission of Palestinian liberation and to hold Duke University accountable for its complicity. They value transparent and accountable communication with the broader Coalition and adhere to principles of openness and transparency. The SC meets on the first Wednesday of each month to strategically prepare for upcoming Coalition meetings by developing agendas and action items. They draw on diverse perspectives, expertise, and experience to drive collective action and achieve impactful outcomes in alignment with the Coalition’s overarching goals.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Drafting agendas and facilitating coalition meetings
2. Maintaining relationships with individuals and organizations in the coalition, including keeping a spreadsheet of organizations and roles
3. Recruiting new individuals and organizations to join the coalition
4. Developing and maintaining a decision-making process aligned with our coalition’s mission and values
5. Drafting the blueprint for our multi-year strategy
6. Co-leading all coalition committees and serving as a liaison to the SC
7. Addressing conflicts or disagreements within the coalition
8. Serving as the public faces of the coalition with university administrators, media outlets, and community organizations
9. Providing training and support to coalition members
10. Developing and implementing communication strategies

Steering Committee membership

The organizational seats on the steering committee comprise “core” and “open at-large” seats. The “core” seats are held by organizations whose core work is Palestinian liberation, anti-apartheid, and decolonial struggle. The “open at-large” seats are available to organizations that are currently dedicated to the coalition’s work but may not always prioritize or exclusively focus on this particular cause. These organizations are willing to accommodate others stepping into leadership roles in the future, and while they are currently involved, their involvement may not be permanent or exclusive to this coalition. Our coalition acknowledges that the Palestine liberation framework enshrines liberation for Black and Brown communities, and is inseparable from other liberation movements worldwide, including Sudan, Congo, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Kashmir, East Turkestan, Taiwan, and Durham. Honoring this, the SC holds up to two seats for Black and Brown-led and historically underrepresented organizations. We firmly believe that Black and Brown people must be included in creating the vision for the world we want to live in, and we value the unique contributions of all our members.

Requirements of Coalition Members

All DDC member organizations must thoroughly read the coalition’s foundational documents: the Organizational Framework, Demands, and Principles [in progress]. Member organizations must commit to DDC’s shared values and actively contribute to achieving the coalition’s goals. Recognizing its members’ diverse capacities and commitments, DDC encourages engagement at levels that align with each organization’s capabilities and objectives.

Monthly Meetings: [TBD]

Onboarding for New Members: The SC will manage the onboarding process for all new member organizations within the DDC. However, every individual within the coalition is encouraged to actively recruit new organizations to join. New members will engage in a one-on-one conversation with a member of the SC to gain insight into our work and the various levels of engagement available. Subsequently, they will receive this document for review. Additionally, in 2024, any new member joining a monthly call will be provided with dedicated time at the beginning of the call for orientation to our coalition.

Levels of Engagement:

• Supporter:
  • Share events and information on social media
  • Join our monthly meetings
  • Read emails on our listserv
  • Read and review documents and action proposals
• Collaborator:
  • Help to build plans and agendas
  • Craft messaging
  • Join or co-lead a committee
  • Recruit new members
  • Offer support and guidance
  • Representatives may sit on the SC
  • Oversee coalition strategy
  • Engage in rapid-response decision-making

Note: To maintain the student-led nature of the DDC, faculty and staff may not sit on the SC. If a member organization comprises students, faculty, and staff, students in that organization are eligible to sit on the SC.

Committee Structure

Committees are created to represent the buckets of work within the coalition. Each committee will be co- led by a SC member and a general body member. They will work together to develop committee meeting structures. Depending on projects, goals, and current events, committees can decide how often they need to meet.

Committees – Task-specific groups composed of members and capacity builders that help us move our work forward, including, but not limited to, the following: