On the dawn of Martin Luther King Day and the first day of Trump's second term, Duke students with an emerging chapter of the Sunrise Movement at Duke University dropped a massive banner over Chapel Quad reading "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere #OurTimeToRise."
We're living in a time of unparalleled crises happening all at once. Raging wildfires in Los Angeles, devastation across western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene, rapidly rising global temperatures, unimaginable wealth inequality, a broken healthcare system, as well as the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The upcoming Trump administration has already laid out its policy agenda through Project 2025. Its consequences on the climate, women and gender minorities, on people of color, and the working class cannot be underestimated.
In 2024, the world experienced its hottest year on record, with global temperatures surpassing the 1.5°C threshold established by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Every fraction of a degree beyond this point matters. The devastating impacts of 1.5°C warming are already unfolding across the globe, confronting us with a reality we can no longer ignore.
The second iteration of the Trump administration will bring havoc and tragedy to the lives not only of those living within the United States but across the globe.
The banner dropped by Sunrise Duke on January 20th read, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The famous words were written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Letter from Birmingham Jail on April 16th, 1963. The message of these words is more important than ever.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and the robust history of student protest at this institution, we reject the notion propagated by Duke University that nonviolent protest and civil disobedience are not a part of free speech in our academic community.
Direct attacks on our First Amendment rights to peaceful assembly are "a rejection and not an application of academic freedom" and a major failure on Duke's part "to uphold our commitment to civil discourse." The university honors the legacy of student protesters with exhibits in Perkins and Rubenstein libraries, yet creates large barriers for present-day, peaceful demonstrations that demand divestment from the Gaza genocide.
It is with this understanding that Sunrise Duke decided to take nonviolent direct action and fight back against Trump and rising fascism.
The right to nonviolent protest is a fundamental pillar of our democracy. Peaceful actions like those of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement, and student movements can be used today and over the next four years to achieve a just, livable future at the speed that science demands.
As we organize toward a more just future for all, we must uphold the need for a multiracial, cross-class movement to defeat Big Oil, Trump, and fascism in order to achieve climate, racial, and economic justice. It is our time to rise together, and I believe that we will win.
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