The Corinthian Poster, 1974, Box 1, University Archives Poster Collection, Duke
Post contributed by Meredith Mobley, University Archives Intern for Student Engagement.
In February of 1974, the Duke Players, who were founded as an independent student theater group in 1931, brought to Durham the premiere of a new, world-class production: The Corinthian. The new play was based on the myth of Oedipus: the age-old tale of a man who murders his father and marries his mother. In the newspaper Durham Sun, Philip Lawrence, the author and director of the play, called it “a complete and new play” — instead of adapting Sophocles’ existing work, he aimed to create an entirely new work that prioritized the themes of the myth rather than the dialogue and directions provided by Sophocles millennia ago.
The play starred two professional Broadway actors, John Callum (Oedipus) and Laura Stuart (Jocasta), with a supporting cast made of local and student talent. News of the play’s premiere was met with much fanfare across the Triangle, but the Players worried as ticket sales failed to meet their expectations and opening night crept closer. But audiences flocked to the production, intrigued by the investment that Duke Administration had made by supporting external, professional talent. Local reviewers noted that a standing ovation was received on opening night, but they themselves were reluctant to give the same praise to the play. In The Chronicle on February 28, 1974, Sally Austen Tom made the evaluation that The Corinthian was a “fine production of a flawed play.” She added that “Its faults, however, do not make the original goals, to have a world premiere of a play at Duke, and to undertake a large Page production, any less exciting or any less laudable.”
The Corinthian Program, 1974, Box 1, University Archives Poster Collection
The Corinthian was the first time in Duke’s history that a world premiere was held on campus. Since then, student written plays, in addition to classics and emerging works, are given by the Players. The Duke Players, through their commitment to artistry and pursuit of good theater, helped to further establish the drama program at Duke, culminating in the formal establishment of the Department of Theater Studies in 2003.
The story of The Corinthian can be found in the scrapbook kept by the Duke Players during the 1973-1974 academic year. The scrapbook is located in Box 7 of the Duke Players records collection of the University Archives, housed in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. More information about the Duke Players can be found in their collection guide. The University Archives relies on donations from student organizations to document and preserve the history of Duke University and the impact of its students. If you are interested in donating your organization’s records (physical or electronic) to the University Archives, follow this link to learn more.
Header Image: Duke Players Scrapbook, 1973-1974, Box 7, Duke Players Records
Post contributed by Amelia Wimbish, DCL at Duke Intern
Today we celebrate the birthday of Lyda Moore Merrick: an artist, a teacher, and a steward of community life in Durham. She was attentive and deliberate in how she showed up for others, offering her abilities where they were needed. People who knew her remembered her patience, her composure, and the thoughtful way she moved through the world.
She was born on November 18, 1886, in a home on Fayetteville Street where her parents, Sarah McCotta “Cottie” Dancy Moore and Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore, cared for neighbors before a hospital for Black residents existed in Durham. The rhythm of that household formed her understanding of responsibility and how one might carry it. Her life is documented not only in her father’s papers but also in the papers of Dr. Charles DeWitt Watts, her son-in-law, whose correspondence and family materials help preserve her story.
Family photograph of Lyda V. Merrick from the 1960s
Lyda was observant and patient, drawn to books, art, and music. At Whitted School she excelled in her studies and graduated as valedictorian. She continued her education at Barber-Scotia Seminary in Concord, a school that prepared Black women to teach and to serve their communities, and then at Fisk University, where she earned her degree in music with honors in 1911. Later she studied art at Columbia University. These institutions connected her to networks of Black educators, artists, and cultural workers and affirmed what she had already learned at home: knowledge holds value when it is shared. She often remembered watching her father read his Bible and study medical research late into the night, long after his formal training had ended. From him she learned that responsibility was not a task completed, but a way of living.
In 1916 she married Edward Richard Merrick. Their home at 906 Fayetteville Street became a place for lessons, conversation, and encouragement. She taught piano and violin to students of many ages, guiding them toward confidence through daily practice. She served as organist at St. Joseph’s AME Church, where music shaped both worship and community life. Those who studied with her remembered calm instruction paired with high expectations, and an approach to teaching that treated skill as something developed over time.
Lyda made art throughout her life. She painted portraits and landscapes and often worked from memory to hold on to places and people who mattered. Her portrait of her father, completed in 1940, remains on display at the Stanford L. Warren Branch of the Durham County Library. Later in life, she drew a detailed map of Hayti from her recollection, recording the neighborhood’s homes, streets, and gathering places. Her art was a form of remembrance, a way of keeping community life visible and known. Across her life, she treated art, teaching, and community work as one practice: preserving what mattered by making it shareable.
Brochure interior describing the organizations mission and support for blind readers.A printed brochure from the North Carolina Federation of Negro Women’s Clubs, Inc., featuring the motto “Lifting As We Climb.”
Her work with blind readers grew from a long relationship. As a young mother, she came to know John Carter Washington, who was blind and deaf from infancy and was receiving care through Lincoln Hospital, where her father worked as a physician and as hospital superintendent. Their friendship endured for more than sixty years. When Washington noted the lack of reading material available to Black blind readers, Lyda responded. In 1952 she founded The Negro Braille Magazine, later adopted as a project of the Durham Colored Library. Volunteers gathered regularly to transcribe essays, sermons, and articles into Braille by hand. The magazine reached readers throughout the United States and internationally. Later renamed The Merrick Washington Magazine, it continued for decades under her daughter’s and later her granddaughter’s leadership. It remains a rare example of Black-led accessible publishing and a testament to collective effort. In 1973, her leadership in the project was recognized by a letter of commendation from the White House.
Recognition of Lyda’s work came steadily across her life. Community organizations, cultural groups, and professional associations honored her not just for what she accomplished, but for how she carried her responsibilities. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Links, Inc. of Durham recognized her leadership. The Daughters of Dorcas and Sons Quilting Guild honored her role in sustaining craft and cultural memory. The North Carolina Library Association granted her honorary membership for her leadership with the Durham Colored Library, her way of continuing her father’s legacy. The Hayti Heritage Center named a gallery in her honor, a testament to her influence on Durham’s artistic life.
Late in life, Lyda reflected on her experiences in an oral history published in Hope and Dignity: Older Black Women of the South. She spoke about the institutions her community built and maintained, and about the belief that cultural and educational life should be shaped by those who participate in it. Her recollections emphasize continuity and ongoing effort rather than singular accomplishments.
Her presence is still visible in Durham. Her portrait of her father greets visitors at the Stanford L. Warren Branch Library. Her hand-drawn map of Hayti preserves the memory of a neighborhood reshaped by time. Issues of The Merrick Washington Magazine survive in collections as evidence of shared labor and sustained commitment.
A hand-drawn map created from memory, documenting the homes, streets, churches, and gathering places of Hayti.
She once reflected, “My father passed a torch to me which I have never let go out. We are blessed to serve.” The care she carried did not end with her lifetime. It continues in the practices of teaching, memory work, and community stewardship today. On her birthday, we honor the torch she tended and the work that keeps it lit.
Sources and Further Reading:
Dr. Charles DeWitt Watts Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Includes correspondence, family materials, John Carter Washington materials, and extensive documentation relating to The Negro Braille Magazine and The Merrick Washington Magazine.
Materials relating to Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore in the Rubenstein Library
Appearing throughout the C. C. Spaulding Papers and related institutional and family collections.
Hand-drawn map of Hayti by Lyda Moore Merrick
Available through Durham County Library and the Rubenstein Library digital collections.
Portrait of Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore (1940)
Painted by Lyda Moore Merrick. On display at the Stanford L. Warren Branch Library.
Hope and Dignity: Older Black Women of the South, by Emily Herring Wilson
Temple University Press.
Aaron McDuffie Moore: An African American Physician, Educator, and Founder of Durham’s Black Wall Street (2020), by Blake Hill-Saya
It is with profound sadness that we share that graphic artist, mask-puppet-and-banner maker, violinist, country dance teacher, and community activist Allan Troxler passed away on October 26, 2025.
Born and raised in Greensboro, Troxler became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and participated in civil rights organizing and campaigns. He also worked in Boston to preserve neighborhoods threatened by urban development. Later, Troxler moved to a communal farm in rural Oregon with his partner, noted gay activist Carl Wittman. While in Oregon, Allan and Carl helped to publish RFD, a magazine for gay men living in rural America.
Returning to North Carolina in 1979, Troxler and Wittman were actively involved in arts, dance, and cultural programs throughout the region. Both devotees of English Country Dance and leaders in a national dance movement, they started Sun Assembly, its weekly dances and New Year’s celebrations in Durham weaving an egalitarian community beyond gender binaries.
Troxler and Wittman were early members of the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Health Project, which sought to improve access to medical care and information for the gay community, particularly as it endured the spread of HIV/AIDs in the early 1980s. They were vocal activists against homophobia and the criminalization of homosexuality. Over the years they helped organize a range of community projects and protests. Wittman died of AIDS in early 1986.
Papercut broadside by Allan Troxler. Allan Troxler Papers, 1800s-2024.
Troxler’s writings, dance, artwork, and activism continued through his life. His work appeared in Southern Exposure, RFD, and local features and press. He created Camas Swale, a series of “occasional pamphlets,” along with other zines and artwork by pseudonym E. Bunny. Troxler’s work frequently expressed political views, opposing anti-gay legislation, and promoting peace and inclusivity. Much of this artwork was distributed to local friends in his community network.
Troxler was honored as an LGBT Pioneer at the Executive Mansion by Governor Roy Cooper in June 2024 along with Mandy Carter as Carolinians who “for decades led the charge for acceptance and equality.” Troxler’s artwork and papers, along with Wittman’s, reside in the Rubenstein Library.
From Troxler’s writings: “Here we be, ears ringing as some of us grieve ancient companions just gone; others meting out pills; potions in portions! Through the window cicadas rattle their ancient benedictions: Life, death. Through the curtain Sister Heavenly Light blesses us all.”
Header Image: Allan Troxler. Portrait by Annie Segrest.
The History of Medicine Collections recently received the Thomas Bashore, M.D., Collection of Artifacts. Dr. Bashore is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the Duke University Medical School, where he specialized in treatment of cardiovascular conditions and congenital heart disease. He first began collecting historic medical artifacts, such as mechanical devices relating to electrotherapy and cardiology, and expanded his collection to include fringe medical instruments and treatments.
Please join us on Wednesday, October 29, at 4:30 p.m. to celebrate the Thomas Bashore Collection. Dr. Bashore will provide remarks.
The United Nations considers intellectual freedom to be a basic human right through Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which asserts: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Libraries in particular value intellectual freedom as part of their mission to provide and protect access to information and ideas. According to the American Library Association intellectual freedom is an integral component of a democratic society, protecting an individual’s right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Yet there is an intensification of threats to intellectual freedom across the United States, with pressure on curriculum and research, book and program challenges, and censorship attempts continuing to reach unprecedented levels.
This year’s Janie K. Long Speaker Series program will focus on the impact of challenges to intellectual freedom on higher education and the steps we can take to support students, faculty, staff, and other members of our community. We will also honor Duke Alumnus Harry H. Harkins Jr, T’73 longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ library collections, scholars, and this event series.
Speakers: Robin Koshelev, Duke undergraduate researcher, Dr. Janie K. Long, Duke faculty emerita, Dr. Joseph Salem, University Librarian, Dr. Pete Sigal, Department of History; moderated by author, journalist, and Duke alumnus Steven Petrow.
Sponsored by: Duke University Libraries, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke Department of History, and the Duke Program for Scholars and Publics.
Post contributed by Jennifer Dai, Josiah Charles Trent History of Medicine Intern.
Image of Psycho-Phone printed on wax cylinder case.
The History of Medicine Collection has recently acquired a fringe medical device, known as the Psycho-Phone, as a part of the Thomas Bashore Collection. Little is written about this item; upon immediate inspection it looks like every other wax cylinder phonograph, however, when you dive deeper you learn the interesting history of this hypnotic device.
In June 1927 the popular psychology magazine titled “Psychology: Health, Happiness, Success” advertised an instrument that claimed it would “enable you to use your vast unconscious powers to get more out of life.” This instrument, called the Psycho-Phone, would allow users to listen to recorded messages of affirmation while sleeping. Created by Alois Benjamin Saliger, this device utilized a clock which would be set to the time when an individual would be at their “most receptive cycle of sleep”. At that time, the device would turn on and play recordings of Mr. Saliger himself reading affirmations such as “you are being rejuvenated in perfect health.” “Your weight is normal.” “Your hair is growing in luxurious abundance.” and “I am now having a wonderful rest.” Once the affirmation was completed the device would automatically turn off and the listener would continue to sleep as a better version of themselves.
Recorder for the wax cylinder psycho-phone.
There were two variations of this device, either utilizing a disc or a wax cylinder to play these recordings. One major difference, aside from price, is that the wax cylinder version would allow users to record their own affirmations. In our collection we have a wax cylinder Psycho-Phone surrounded by numerous empty wax cylinders just waiting to hold affirmations. Enclosed in the travel case which holds the Psycho-Phone is a letter from Mr. Salinger himself from October 1927. He states that they had also sent “some information regarding affirmations which we think you will find useful as it has been prepared in the light of much expertise.” Unfortunately, we do not have the materials Mr. Saliger spoke of in his letter, leaving us to wonder what affirmations he personally recommended to buyers of his device. After allegedly selling 2,500 devices by 1933, the company disappeared, as did many of those devices.
Nearly 100 years later, we have apps and television shows that promote mental health in similar ways to Mr. Saliger’s device. A quick Google search will show numerous videos and podcasts promoting sleep affirmations. With this in mind, I see the Psycho-Phone as more than a heavy device that once resided on a few bedside tables, it’s the physical proof that no matter when in history you happen to live, we’re always striving for betterment any way we can.
The Rubenstein Library mourns the loss of Terry Allan Murray, who passed away on August 7, 2025. Terry was born in Durham, where he would reside his entire life alongside his brother, Edwin. Terry was from a family with strong Duke connections. His father, Lee H. Murray, worked at Duke, and his uncle was famed football coach Wallace Wade. Terry and his brother Edwin both attended Duke in the 1970s.
Terry and Edwin began collecting comic books as boys in the 1950s and eventually assembled one of the largest archival comics collections in the United States, including more than 57,000 comic books. In time this grew to include thousands of fanzines, comic strips, original comic art, pulp magazines, card sets, science fiction, as well as role-playing and board games. In 2002, they donated the major portion of their collection to the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and they have continued to make additions in the years since.
Terry was a dedicated collector and brought a methodological focus to his work. Armed with reference books, reviews, and annual top 10 lists, he was intentional about his collecting. At the same time, Terry never lost sight of why comics are fun. He was as much a reader interested in authors, characters, and stories, and would often collect related materials across different genres, from comics to games to fiction. In 1999, McFarland published Terry’s Science Fiction Magazine Story Index, 1926 – 1995, the result of many years of work. In the introduction, Terry writes about how this came out of his own interests in science fiction and how he hoped that this work would serve as a tool for readers, collectors, and scholars.
Terry, at one of the mini-cons hosted at his home in Durham
In addition to being an avid reader of comic books and science fiction, Terry was also a dedicated fan. In 1968, he and Edwin began hosting the Durham mini-cons – likely the earliest fan conventions in North Carolina. Their personal papers in the Rubenstein Library include photographs of these events held at their Durham home, as well as issues of their fanzine Vertigo. Sharing collections and bringing fans together were part of Terry’s ongoing interests.
At the Rubenstein Library, the Edwin and Terry Murray collections remain popular with researchers and students. Recent classes that have used parts of the collection have included: “Games and Culture,” “Cold War America,” “US History in Fact and Fiction,” and “Fantasy: The Borders of Genre, Medium, and Culture.” Some of their comics are currently on display as part of the library exhibit American Indians Go Graphic, exploring comic books and graphic novels by and about Native Americans. We are grateful for our long collaboration with Terry and for the legacy that he leaves. His collections will continue to be shared and bring people together.
Terry Murray was a loving son and a devoted brother and friend. He is survived by his brother, Edwin.
The 2025 Human Rights Digital Storytelling Award, presented by the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University, has been awarded to the podcast Inside Kabul.
Produced and originally broadcast by FRANCE INTER (French Public Radio) Inside Kabul was created and directed by Caroline Gillet in collaboration with Marwa and Raha. Inside Kabul tells the story of two young friends whose lives were upended when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. As they faced an increasingly dangerous present and an uncertain future, Raha and Marwa exchanged and recorded hundreds of voice notes via WhatsApp with Gillet, a noted French journalist.
These recordings became the heart of the podcast, offering a raw, intimate, and immediate documentation of displacement. As the podcast describes:
“What emerges is a raw and incredibly intimate chronicle of two young women coming of age amidst the collapse of the world they had known. While Raha has chosen to stay in Kabul and is confronted with the violence of the new regime, Marwa has left and finds herself locked up in a refugee camp in Abu Dhabi.”
According to Caroline Gillet:
“Raha and Marwa showed immense courage when they accepted to document their lives under Taliban rule and leaving into exile. Their voice diaries are a powerful testimony of how life changed both for those who chose to leave and those who had to stay after the dramatic events of August 2021. New technologies can sometimes create unexpected proximity, and many people in Europe and in the States told me how close they felt to Raha and Marwa after hearing them. I’m very thankful that through this award, more people can get to know them and the terrible suffering of Afghan women under the terrorist rule of the Taliban.”
Patrick Stawski, Human Rights Archivist at Duke, said:
“Inside Kabul powerfully shows how audio technologies can serve to document, connect, and hope. We are intimately connected to Raha and Marwa’s stories through their voices and the sonic elements of their journey: falling rain at a refugee camp, the crinkle of a food ration wrapper, the sounds of a Taliban security checkpoint.”
Caitlin Margaret Kelly, Curator for the Archive of Documentary Arts, added:
“Being immersed in Raha and Marwa’s unedited audio diaries is to be invited into their lives in ways that bypass the usual narrative arc. In listening to the recordings, our pace is set by the two young women, and our view of unfolding events is powerfully constructed through their experiences.”
Image from Inside Kaboul animated short, by Luciano Lepinay based on works by Kubra Khademi.
In addition to the podcast, Caroline, Marwa, and Raha continue to use the audio diaries to tell their evolving story of displacement and rebuilding. A second season of the show, titled Outside Kabul, is now available in English on France Inter’s YouTube channel. In 2023, they partnered with Denis Walgenwitz to produce an animated short also titled Inside Kabul and are now working on an animated adaption of Outside Kabul. In 2025, they collaborated with Afghan performance artist Kubra Khademi to produce One’s Own Room: Inside Kabul, an immersive installation presented at the 2025 Festival d’Avignon.
Marwa, one of the three collaborators behind Inside Kabul, said:
“I began exchanging with Caroline and recording sound notes with the hope of being a voice for the people of Afghanistan—especially for women like myself who were deprived of their freedom and rights after the Taliban took over the country in August 2021. Today, Inside Kabul is part of my identity as an advocate for our rights. It is our way of resisting—of standing against this regime and the erasure of Afghan women, and against the gender apartheid in Afghanistan. This award is deeply meaningful to me, as it ensures that our voices will be preserved and accessible to researchers who can shed light on the reality of women’s lives under the Taliban’s terrorist regime.”
The Rubenstein Library’s Human Rights Digital Storytelling Award is co-sponsored by the Human Rights Archive and the Archive of Documentary Arts. It supports outstanding documentary artists and activists exploring themes of human rights and social justice. The award aims to expand the library’s digital documentary holdings while ensuring long-term preservation and access.
The award honors projects that transcend simple information sharing. It celebrates digital storytellers who create deeply contextualized, multi-sensory works that may include still images, moving images, oral histories, soundscapes, and documentary writing.
Winners receive $3,500 and are invited to present their work at Duke University, where they collaborate with archivists to preserve their materials.
The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library has a longstanding commitment to human rights and the documentary arts. Its collections represent the work of global creators and document the power of documentary to inspire action and transform the world.
Submitted by Mattison H. Bond, Movement History Initiative Coordinator
February is traditionally associated as the month in which we focus on the history and achievements of African Americans within the United States. But as information becomes more accessible and widespread more people have realized that Black history cannot be contained within a single month, and August is just as important a month for the Black community as February is.
What is Black August?
The origins of Black August began during the later end of the Black liberation movement, during the 1960s and 70s. As the nonviolent, peaceful mobilizations of the Civil Rights Movement began to transform into the direct-action campaigns of the Black Power Movement (sparked by SNCC’s Stokely Carmichael one hot night in Greenwood, MS, nearing the end of the Meredith March for Freedom), the formation of the nascent Black Panther Party come to the forefront of the movement bringing with them renewed energies toward self-sustainability and revolutionary theories and practices.
George Jackson, revolutionary and member of the Black Panther Party became a symbol of resistance while in prison. Incarcerated at a young age in 1961, Jackson was exposed to radical liberation politics by fellow inmates. Emboldened by this philosophy , he and his comrades dedicated themselves to organizing within the prison system, leading study groups and even starting a chapter of the Black Panther Party within the San Quentin Prison.
It was in 1971, a year after the killing of his brother, Jonathan, and other political prisoners, that George Jackson was assassinated by a prison guard within Soledad Prison. The death of these two brothers, along with the death of other political prisoners sparked widespread organizing and advocacy within the prison system.
Black August was celebrated for the first time in 1979 within San Quentin prison, where George Jackson and his comrades breathed their last breath. In remembrance of their lives and the decade of the liberation struggle within prisons, a moment of connection to centuries of Black resistance that served as a precedent, Black August came to symbolize a broader struggle for liberation and justice, particularly in response to enduring racial and social inequities.
How Can You Participate?
When Black August was first celebrated within the walls of the California San Quentin prison, prisoners in solidarity wore black armbands on their left arms and dedicated time to study books about revolutions and liberation, specifically focusing on the writings of George Jackson. In that same spirit, Black August continues to be a month of remembrance, education, and meditation toward the fight for liberation. During the month, celebrators dedicate their time to “study, fast, train, [and] fight.”
A Black August Booklist, But Make it SNCCY!
With an emphasis on STUDY here are some books written by members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee of the 1960s. Dedicated to the liberation of all people by means of impowering local people and communities, with education and nonviolent/political training, there is much to be learned about the fight for liberation between the pages of these featured books.
“This Nonviolent Stuff will Get you Killed” by Charlie Cobb“The Making of Black Revolutionaries” by James Forman“Hands on the Freedom Plow” Editor Judy Richardson“Ready for Revolution” by Stokely Carmichael“I’ve Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle” by Charles Payne“The Courage to Hope: How I Stood Up to the Politics of Fear” by Shirley Sherrod
Want to read more from the veterans of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee? Check out the SNCC 60th Anniversary program agenda[SNCC-Agenda-v6.pdf] (start on p. 27) for more books by SNCC veterans.
And for a deeper context, check out the “Meet the Authors: A Legacy of Excellence in SNCC Literature – 19 Authors, 1 Movement” [Meet the Authors of the SNCC 60th Anniversary Conference – SNCC Legacy Project] videos, where 19 authors gather for one-on-one interviews to talk about their experiences within organizing that lead to their written materials.
Dispatches from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University
