Duke Renames East Campus Union to Honor George Wall Family

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Welcome to the weekend, readers.

Last month, Duke University’s Board of Trustees voted to rename the student center—the East Campus Union—the Wall Center for Student Life in dedication to George Wall and his son George-Frank Wall for their decades of service to the university.

George Wall, a formerly enslaved person, worked for nearly 50 years as a property steward for Duke University. Wall followed the school’s move from Randolph County to Durham in 1892 at the request of university president John F. Crowell. He purchased a plot of land for $50 near East Campus to build his family a one-story cottage. The neighborhood would come to be known as “Walltown” in honor of Wall’s commitment to the burgeoning community of working-class Black families.

Adam Silver, chair of the Duke Board of Trustees by day, NBA Commissioner by night, said during the ceremony that the dedication was long overdue.

But 100 years after the founding of Walltown, the neighborhood that first bore Wall’s name is at a crossroads.

Encroaching redevelopment has left the community with few Black homeowners. Talib Graves-Manns, one of Wall’s descendants who spoke at the dedication ceremony, says he wonders what his ancestors would think about the million-dollar houses in place of the homes built by their family and friends.

Both Wall family members and Duke staff who were in attendance gave voice to the moment, saying that the partnership between Duke and Durham still has room to grow.

You can read more about the dedication here.

—Justin

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