Brodie Duke: The Black Sheep

I sat down with my friend Ellie Parker to talk about her ancestor, Brodie Duke—the black sheep of the Duke family.

If you’ve ever heard his name, it’s probably been attached to scandal. Brodie had a reputation—alcohol, failed marriages, and headlines that followed him across the country. 

For a long time, that’s where his story has started and ended.

But here’s the part most folks don’t know:

The Duke empire? It traces back to his vision.

Brodie was the one who helped pull his family into tobacco manufacturing in Durham, laying the groundwork for what would become one of the most powerful business dynasties in the South.

So I asked the question—was he really just the family’s cautionary tale? Or was he something more complicated than that?

This conversation digs into both sides of Brodie: the troublemaker the newspapers loved, and the man whose ideas helped shape North Carolina history.

Because like a lot of stories around here—it ain’t clean, it ain’t simple, and it sure ain’t one-sided.

And in that way, it might just be one of the most North Carolina stories there is.

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Tags:

#NCHistory #UntoldStories #Storytelling #BrodieDuke #DukeFamily #DurhamNC #TobaccoHistory #SouthernRoots