Dax-Devlon Ross

Puffin Foundation Fellow

Dax-Devlon Ross is the author of six books and his journalism has been featured in Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. He won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for his coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts and is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at Type Media Center.

His most recent book Letters to My White Male Friends, published by St. Martin’s Press in June 2021, is a call to action and a reflection on race. Dax details how racism has harmed Black people for generations but has also hurt white people by robbing their lives of fullness and meaningful relationships. 

A New York City teaching fellow turned non-profit executive, Dax is now a principal at the social impact consultancies, Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, both of which focus on designing disruptive strategies to generate equity in workplaces and education spaces alike. Dax received his Juris Doctor from George Washington University. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Alana, and their young children.

Books

Letters to My White Male Friend

In Letters to My White Male Friends, Dax-Devlon Ross speaks directly to the millions of middle-aged white men who are suddenly awakening to race and racism.

Highlights

The Challenge to Power

In the past three years, many of us who have been advancing justice initiatives have either questioned or outright criticized traditional top-down leadership as one root cause of the perpetuation of structural racism.

Type Talk: Race, Resistance & Policing in NYC Race

Type Fellows Collier Meyerson, journalist and host of the new podcast “Love Thy Neighbor,” and Dax-Devlon Ross, writer and host of the upcoming podcast “The Burden,” discuss their reporting and the decades long history of NYPD misconduct in communities of color.  Saki Knafo, reporter and host of the podcast series “Conviction,” moderates the discussion.

Did Armed Black Radicals Fail?

This article is part of “The Beginning of Understanding,” a symposium in response to Ashley Lucas’s report “The End of Rage” in Plough’s Autumn 2021 issue.

‘Inundated and Overwhelmed’: Black Undertakers Struggle Amid Pandemic

Black-owned funeral homes were already in decline. Can they survive Covid-19?

Police Are Trying To Free Inmates At Risk Of Coronavirus. Why Are Judges Blocking Them?

Judges are dangerously behind the curve in supporting compassionate release and other plans to reduce the jail population.

One City’s Struggle to Police the Police

Under Obama, Newark promised to reform its force. Is the Trump administration failing to follow up?

Bias in the Box

For capital juries across America, race still plays a role in who gets to serve.

The Backstory: Dax-Devlon Ross

Ross discusses his investigation about discriminatory jury selection, how he cultivated sources, and the role his legal and academic background played in the reporting process