Brown’s Schoolhouse, a small private school, opened in Randolph County 186 years ago. Over time, it grew and expanded, acquiring an official charter and renaming itself Normal College. It was later renamed Trinity College after affiliating with the Methodist Church.
Trinity College, too, would grow and change, moving to Durham at the behest of Washington Duke. After Washington died, his sons James B. and Benjamin N. Duke continued to support the university. In 1924, James B. Duke established the Duke Endowment and devoted a portion of it to Trinity College, which renamed itself Duke University in his father’s honor.
This year, Duke marks the centennial of that renaming. To celebrate, the University released “Permanent Good: A Duke Documentary,” which premiered Thursday 5 p.m. at the Nasher Auditorium.
At the screening, President Vincent Price spoke briefly about the documentary, which has been in the works since Fall 2022, according to an email from Jill Boy, executive director of Duke‘s Centennial celebration, and Director of Communications Carolyn Gerber According to Price, its title is drawn from a letter sent to James B. Duke by William Few, the fifth president of Trinity College and first president of Duke, in which he tells Duke that he’s “done some permanent good on the Earth” by supporting the University.
The documentary, made in partnership with Emmy-Award winning Blueline Pictures, begins by detailing the decades before the University took its current name, with the story of the Duke family. The audience sees Washington Duke and his sons go from poor farmers to tobacco magnates who attempt to put their newfound wealth to good use. After recruiting Trinity to Durham, they continued to support and influence the University, pushing it to admit women and helping it grow.
Due to the determined efforts of Few, Duke receives the game and name-changing money from the Duke Endowment. With it, Duke goes on a massive building spree, upgrading what is now East Campus and transforming a swathe of forest into West Campus.
The documentary then follows Duke through several of its most pivotal changes, from first desegregating and then truly integrating, to becoming co-ed and moving from a small, southern university to a national institution.
The documentary draws on the insights of key figures from Duke’s history, including former Presidents Richard Brodhead and Nannerl Keohane, Price, Charlie Lucas, Law School '90, a direct descendant of James B. Duke; Claudius Clayborne, Pratt '69 and Duke's first Black basketball player, and Gene Kendall, one of the first five Black students to attend the University.
The documentary incorporates a mixture of interviews, photos and archival footage, including a number of never-before-seen clips and photos, according to Boy and Gerber. It also covers a number of lesser-known tidbits from Duke’s history, including that local European laborers competed for the chance to work on Duke Chapel, eager to build a Gothic church.
“Permanent Good” is both a work of history and historiography. Its approach was a “Great Man” one, treating historical events as caused by key individuals, not abstract forces or fate. The framing works well for the Duke story, as much of its evolution has indeed been due to the actions of key individuals, be they University presidents, Duke family members or students.
The documentary is also technically and aesthetically fantastic. Its quality is on par with film or television documentaries in terms of its visuals, voiceover and music. The expertise of the production team and the effort put into the project by Duke archivists and historians shines through.
According to both Price’s remarks and the email sent by Boy and Gerber, the documentary was intended to mix education about and celebration of Duke’s past with inspiration for the future. In its final scene Price calls on the University community to continue to make a difference.
The film, at roughly an hour, is unable to cover the full Duke story and fails to include many key events. In addition, the documentary neglects both high points, like four of Duke’s five national basketball championships, and dark spots, including Washington Duke’s slave ownership.
Overall, “Permanent Good: A Duke Documentary” is an astutely produced and well-structured take on the Duke story with something for everyone, regardless of their familiarity with the University's history. For those who have an interest in how Duke came to be — or where it is headed — head over to the Nasher to watch it for yourself.
“Permanent Good: A Duke Documentary,” will be screened for general audiences at the Nasher on Dec. 8 and 11. There will be an additional screening for students on Dec. 9. The film will also be released online in Spring 2025.
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Zev van Zanten is a Trinity junior and recess editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.