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NSVRC Blogs by Darin J. Dorsey


Darin J. Dorsey is Principal and Co-founder of Rooting Movements, a consulting firm that helps organizations ensure that the values that underlie the change they intend to make in society are reflected in how they operate, internally and externally. In his work with Rooting Movements, Darin helps organizations assess their practices, policies, and culture to ensure that their values are reflected in not only the work they put out but how they do it, too. All the work he does is in community with the amazing advocates and activists he has had the privilege to connect with over the years; he believes consultation and training work is more effective when done in collaboration with other movement workers. Darin has learned from experience that the biggest barriers to changing our communities for the better occur when inequities happen in our organizations. And he’s made it his mission to remove those barriers.During his college years, Darin immersed himself in the movement to end gender-based violence, volunteering and working for his local sexual assault advocacy center while studying gender studies and feminist theory.  His introduction into this work was at a time when conversations about intersections of identity were not mainstream, particularly when it comes to race. It has only been within the last few years that he saw himself as more than “a man in the movement” and fully recognized the value of the experiences, knowledge, and perspective that he holds as a Black man in this movement. Darin has worked within diverse communities across multiple regions, including California, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest. He has served in several roles, including as a survivor advocate, a prevention educator, policy advocate, and within organizational leadership. He is well versed in public health approaches to violence prevention and has implemented and provided training and technical assistance for CDC-funded primary prevention programs.Outside of this work, he spends most of his time with his partner, Cecily, and their toddler-aged son. His favorite hobbies are gardening and BBQing. In addition to herbs, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables, he grows at least 10 different hot chile pepper plants each year and uses them to make hot sauces, marinades, seasonings for his cooking and BBQing adventures.

I recently had the immense privilege of speaking to five Black movement leaders about their experiences of anti-Blackness in the movement to end gender based violence and steps we can take to create a movement that is inclusive of Black workers and survivors.