RICHMOND (December 1, 2020) – The Virginia State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Virginia NAACP) announced on Tuesday that Da’Quan Marcell Love will be the organization’s new Executive Director. According to the Va NAACP, Love is the youngest state executive director in the history of the NAACP.
Hailing from Henrico, the NAACP referred to Love as a “longtime member, leader and a respected civil rights activist who will be tasked with guiding the Virginia NAACP through a period of tremendous challenge and opportunity at a key point in its 85-year history.” The Virginia NAACP says that they have undergone transitions in leadership over the past several years as they try to re-imagine themselves in a new social and political landscape.
“Da’Quan comes to us with a wealth of experience on the national level. He has the business acumen, strategic leadership, and knowledge of the Association to lead our State Headquarters and serve our membership in an outstanding manner,” said Robert N. Barnette, Jr., President of the Virginia NAACP. “As a civil rights veteran, he is intimately knowledgeable about the issues that Black Virginians face and that the Virginia NAACP must work to address,” he added.
“Having worked with the Virginia NAACP over the past two years, I’m confident that Da’Quan is the perfect candidate to lead this state conference forward so it can implement its strategic plan,” said the national NAACP Administrator Gloria Sweet-Love. “Mr. Love’s unique knowledge of the internal workings of the NAACP and the professional relationships he brings from the political arena will undoubtedly elevate the Virginia NAACP’s political advocacy efforts.”
Mr. Love was selected by the Executive Committee after a national search yielded over 60 highly-qualified candidates.
A former member of the NAACP National Board of Directors, Da’Quan served in many national leadership roles including: vice chair of the annual national convention, and chair of the National Youth Work Committee. As national youth work chair, he led the programmatic oversight of the NAACP’s youth and college units across the country. He formerly served as president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP Youth & College Division, where he successfully led a campaign to stop the proposed invalidation of more than 16,000 voter registration applications in 2012.
Aligned with the Virginia NAACP’s intense focus on non-partisan political and voter engagement for the 2021 election cycle, Da’Quan brings an unmatched political acumen to the state conference. A former state legislative candidate and political staffer, Da’Quan has worked on numerous local, state and federal political campaigns as a fundraiser and strategist.
Da’Quan earned his bachelors in political science from historically-black Hampton University and his masters in teaching from North Carolina State University. He serves on the board of directors of Profound Gentlemen and New Leaders Council-North Carolina, and is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Da’Quan will be the sixth full-time executive director of the Virginia NAACP, following the likes of former executive directors: Lester Banks (Executive Secretary) 1947-1977; Jack Gravely 1977-1984; W. Paul Matthews 1984-1986; Linda Byrd Harden 1987-1998; King Salim Khalfani 1998-2014.
Virginia Scope is an independent news publication that is funded largely by donations and subscribers. As local newsrooms are losing writers each day, we are trying to fill the void to ensure that the public is informed and that leaders are held accountable for their actions. If you can chip in a monthly subscription of whatever you can afford, even $1, it will go a long way to helping us. Subscribe here. You can also make a one-time donation below:
