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Reclaiming Durham's Narrative: Scholarship, Service, and the Spirit of Dr. Moore

Reclaiming Durham's Narrative: Scholarship, Service, and the Spirit of Dr. Moore

Connecting Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore's Legacy to Duke and Durham today. 

January 22, 2026

12:00-1:30pm

Lunch and book signing. 

Location: Smith Warehouse, Bay 4, C105, Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall
114 South Buchanan Blvd, Durham, NC 27708

Program: Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore—physician, educator, civic visionary, and founder of the Durham Colored Library—played a pivotal role in shaping Durham’s Black institutions and community life. Join us for a discussion examining Moore’s lasting contributions and the ways his legacy continues to inform present-day conversations about education, equity, and local history. Panelists will explore Moore’s influence on Durham’s development, the interconnected histories of the Durham Colored Library and other Black-led institutions, and the relevance of Moore’s values to Duke University’s ongoing engagement with the surrounding community.

This lunchtime panel is part of a broader initiative celebrating the living legacy of Dr. Moore and the enduring impact of Black-led innovation and institution-building in Durham.

Panelists

Descendants of Dr. Moore and leaders in their fields

  • C. Eileen Watts Welch, President, Durham Colored Library, Inc. and the Leader of the Aaron McDuffie Moore Biography Project
  • Blake Hill-Saya, Executive Director, The Friends of NC Freedom Park Board; Author of the Aaron McDuffie Moore biography - titled Aaron McDuffie Moore: An African American Physician, Educator, and Founder of Durham’s Black Wall Street, Published 2020 by UNC Press
  • Brandi Sansom Glover, Duke Alum ’06; Board Member, Durham Colored Library, Inc., experienced non-profit leader in the arts and community leadership arena  

Chair of the Department of History at North Carolina Central University

  • Charles D. Johnson, PhD.  -  Associate Professor of History, North Carolina Central University who specializes in Public History in the Global African Diaspora.

Moderator

Damon Tweedy, MD — Physician, Author, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine