Donovan X. Ramsey
2025-2026 Obama Foundation USA Leader
Professor of Journalism, Morehouse College, & Staff Writer, The Bail Project
New York City, New York
Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist and professor at Morehouse College, where he advances media literacy and builds future leadership for more representative, accountable, and grassroots journalism. His book When Crack Was King, featured by NPR, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, reframed national narratives about the crack epidemic by spotlighting resilience among Black communities and connected grassroots stories to systemic challenges around criminal justice reform. A former senior reporter at the Los Angeles Times and editor at The Marshall Project, Donovan has led cross-stakeholder reporting projects addressing criminal justice, systemic inequality, and misinformation. He sees storytelling as a way to build bridges and is committed to strengthening journalism as a pluralistic institution that serves communities from the ground up.
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