DaQuan's Story:
Another Harlem Humanitarian
We are spirits on human journeys and the true measure of a human’s spiritual limit cannot be defined. That means with or without money, we cannot judge our human/eternal worth based on dollar signs. - DaQuan Lawrence
"A 90s Baby..."
DaQuan Lawrence is a Pan-African humanitarian, human rights activist, and international affairs young professional who hails from Harlem, New York City.
He is passionate about human rights, grassroots organizing, public service, and social justice.
DaQuan advocates for ideology that rejects accepted notions of social inequality, and develops human rights campaigns that inspire egalitarian ("equalist") thought and principles, as well as cultural, social, economic, and political parity.
He is cofounder/Executive Director of Strong Men Overcoming Obstacles Through Hard-work (SMOOTH) Inc., a member-based social development organization dedicated to educating, empowering, developing, and organizing B/black males and youth.
DaQuan uses public policy research and human rights advocacy to equip young people, marginalized communities, nonprofit practioners, as well as public and private sector representatives with the tools to change social and economic conditions.
Makeba's Son...
Born January 1, 1990, DaQuan Marquise Lawrence was raised in foster homes in New York City with his teenage mother and endured poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, drug abuse, and neglect before relocating to Maryland in 2002. DaQuan has transcended societal expectations and generational barriers as the son of teenage parents, a welfare recipient, a former foster care youth with an incarcerated father, and first-generation college graduate. Despite a long list of personal traumatic experiences, he never excused himself from opportunities to assist and advocate for others. In 2007, after graduating from Frederick Douglass High School in Prince Georges County, Maryland, DaQuan began his pursuit of service to humanity.
DaQuan developed into a young man at the illustrious Morgan State University, and as a devout human rights activist and social justice advocate in east Baltimore, DaQuan's passion for empowering under-served communities and developing civil society led to work with academic, social, professional, government, and nonprofit organizations. His efforts as a student activist began in 2008 when he joined Morgan State's DuBois Diggs Sociology Society, and continued in 2009 when he cofounded the student organization, Strong Men Overcoming Obstacles Through Hard-work (SMOOTH) to educate, develop, organize, and empower B/black and brown male youth and young men. In 2009, DaQuan further developed his leadership, advocacy, and organizational management skills as a member (Junior Class Senator) of Morgan State's Student Government Association, which was comprised of several transformational student leaders.
From 2010-2011, DaQuan served as Morgan State's student member of its Board of Regents, and from 2011-2012, he served as Morgan State’s Student Government Association President. During the summer of 2012, DaQuan worked as the Campaign/Road Manager for a Super Political Action Committee’s two-week, 12-city voter registration tour that spanned across seven battleground states and enlisted 1 million voters for President Obama’s reelection, and during the fall of 2012, DaQuan interned on Capitol Hill for the late, great, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings. In May 2013, he graduated from Morgan State earning a B.A. in Sociology, with double minors in Philosophy and Criminal Justice.
Commited to public service and community development, between 2013-2014 DaQuan served Baltimore via the AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America program and worked on education policy research, community outreach, racial equity, coalition building, and advocacy projects related to underserved populations. In 2014, SMOOTH was incorporated and broadened its mission to improving the retention and graduation rates of African-American males and developing a transnational network of males who transcend poverty via collective action and social entrepreneurship. For the previous six years, DaQuan has worked for Washington DC-based nonprofits and international nongovernment organizations on policy programs, research, and human rights advocacy while studying international relations and economics at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and earned his Master of International Public Policy in 2018.
"In Every Obstacle,
Lies Equal Opportunity"
Since relocating to Washington DC in 2014, DaQuan has strived to improve political, economic, and social conditions in America and internationally. His humanitarian spirit and desire to work as an international civil servant has led to professional experiences in Liberia, Indonesia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Palestine, and Israel. DaQuan has also worked on policy advocacy with human rights defenders in Africa (Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Uganda), Asia (India and Pakistan), the Middle East (Jordan), and South America (Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru). DaQuan has gained significant experience in grassroots organizing and advocacy, policy research and program implementation, policy-making processes, capacity building, strategic communications, and international and economic development.
DaQuan attributes his interest in economic development and international public policy to his experiences in generational American poverty. His research interests include economic inequality, impoverished communities, racial equity, youth and males of color, international development, and human rights issues. He currently serves the Board of Directors of SMOOTH Inc., and is a graduate student researcher in Washington DC, pursuing his doctorate degree in African Studies at Howard University - which became the first institution
in America to offer such a program in 1969.
useful
Connect with DaQuan!
© Copyright 2020 DaQuanLawrence.com
All rights reserved.