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--DaShanne Stokes
By the time he earned his doctorate, DaShanne had already established himself as a thought leader with insightful views on a range of important social and political issues. I can't wait to see what he does next. --Dr. Mike Friedman, clinical psychologist, Psychology Today and Huffington Post contributor
Dr. Stokes reveals the depth of injustice waged upon those who have been marginalized and who might be otherwise left silenced if not for courageous voices, like his. --Amanda H.L. Transue-Woolston, speaker and author of "The Declassified Adoptee"
DaShanne's fresh perspective and unique experience challenges our preconceptions and leads us to think more deeply about today's social problems and illuminates important means to address them. --Dr. C. Richard King, author of "Redskins: Insult and Brand" and "Beyond Hate: White Power and Popular Culture"
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Invite Dr. Stokes
- What You Can Expect
- In The Press
- Press Clips
- About Dr. DaShanne Stokes
- Publicity Bio
- How to Pronounce DaShanne Stokes' Name
- Bio Talking Points and Audience Introduction
- Interview Topics
- Author Photos
- Promotions
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Provide a Testimonial
INVITE DR. STOKES
For press inquiries and to invite Dr. Stokes for a media interviews and program bookings, please email media (at) dashannestokes (dot) com.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
Here's a brief overview of what you can expect in booking Dr. Stokes for your program:
- Lively commentary, penetrating analysis, and a moving discussion about issues important to your organization and audience.
- The expertise of a trained research scholar, an experienced commentator and educator, and widely published author.
- Prompt and professional responses to your phone calls and emails.
- A personal consultation with Dr. Stokes prior to the program, so he can better understand how to serve you and connect with your audience.
- Announcements about your program across Dr. Stokes' platform, including his website and social media (for programs that you'd like help publicizing).
IN THE PRESS
Dr. Stokes' fresh and provocative thinking has been quoted hundreds of times around the world in major outlets like People, USA Today, The Hill, MSN, BET, The Nation, Elite Daily, The Daily Dot, Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Observer, International Business Times, The Courier-Gazette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Charlotte Observer, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
TELEVISION AND RADIO APPEARANCES
Dr. Stokes appeared on Sky News Tonight (UK), to discuss the Florida shooting and its political implications on February 15, 2018.
Dr. Stokes appeared on BBC Arabic, to discuss the so-called Trump Award Winners for False Journalism #FakeNews on January 18, 2018.
Dr. Stokes appeared on BBC's Radio 5 Live Drive, to discuss President Trump's controversial speech to the Boy Scouts of America. July 25, 2017.
Dr. Stokes appeared on NPR's The Takeaway, to discuss President's Address to the Boy Scouts Triggers Outrage on July 25, 2017.
Dr. Stokes appeared on Out Chicago, to discuss the First Amendment Defense Act and claims of religious freedom used to attack LGBT rights on August 7, 2016.
Dr. Stokes appeared on MSN.com, "Boy Scouts Expected To Ratify Resolution To Allow Gay Scoutmasters," July 27, 2015.
Dr. Stokes appeared on NBC, "Boy Scout Board Approves End to Blanket Ban on Gay Adults," July 27, 2015.
Dr. Stokes appeared on CBS, "Boy Scouts Expected To Ratify Resolution To Allow Gay Scoutmasters," July 27, 2015.
Dr. Stokes appeared on Progressive Voices, "How Homophobia is Hurting Our Nation's Foster Children." November 10, 2015. (Broadcast nationally)
Dr. Stokes appeared on The Robert Christian Show, "DaShanne Stokes Civil Rights Activist." June 19, 2015.
Dr. Stokes appeared on This Show is So Gay, Interview About the Boy Scouts' Anti-Gay Policy, the Ethnic Team Name and Mascot Controversy, and Native American Religious Freedom and the Eagle Feather Law. June 4, 2015. (Broadcast nationally)
Dr. Stokes appeared on Out Chicago, The Boy Scouts of America Anti-Gay Policy and Membership Controversy, April 12, 2015
Dr. Stokes appeared on Native America Calling, "Fight Over Eagle Feathers." February 18, 2015. (Broadcast across the U.S. and Canada).
Dr. Stokes appeared on Uprising Radio, "Erasing the 'R' Word from our Lexicon," May 27, 2014.
Dr. Stokes appeared on The Beat of Sports, Interviewed About Dan Snyder and Changing the Discriminatory Washington Football Team Name. April 22, 2014.
Dr. Stokes appeared on First Voices Indigenous Radio, "The Eagle Feather Law: How Religious Freedom in America is Restricted for Native Americans." March 1, 2007
Dr. Stokes appeared on Native America Calling, "The Sanctity of Eagles." December 19, 2006. (Broadcast across the U.S. and Canada)
Dr. Stokes appeared on South Dakota Public Radio, Leonard Peltier and Contemporary Issues in Native American Culture. April 4, 2000.
PRESS CLIPS
DaShanne Stokes has been mentioned in numerous press and media sources, such as The Huffington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Examiner.com. To read a selection of Dr. Stokes' press clips, please click here.
ABOUT DR. DASHANNE STOKES
Powerful, inspirational, and known for digging deep beneath the surface, Dr. DaShanne Stokes is a recognized thought leader, sociologist, author, speaker, and pundit. A scholar of politics, culture, and civil rights, he has been an invited college speaker and a sought after guest featured on NPR, BBC, NBC, CBS, MSN.com, and other media.
Dr. Stokes' fresh and provocative thinking has been quoted hundreds of times around the world in major outlets like People, USA Today, The Hill, MSN, BET, The Nation, Elite Daily, The Daily Dot, Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Observer, International Business Times, The Courier-Gazette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Charlotte Observer, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. His work has appeared in scholarly journals, books, and publications like The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Advocate, Diverse, and Indian Country Today, among others. DaShanne Stokes' story has been featured on the front page of The Huffington Post, where he is also a contributor, and is the subject of his forthcoming memoir, Recomposition.
DaShanne (pronounced Duh-Shane) was born in 1978, in Racine, WI, to a teenage mother and raised in Las Vegas, NV, without knowing he was adopted.
As a child, DaShanne was raised being told he had Lakota ancestry, and he began embracing his heritage as a source of strength and direction while still in grade school. Despite an upbringing marked by racism, poverty, abuse, trauma, and neglect, DaShanne flourished academically. He began writing at the age of eleven, was a delegate to Nevada Boys' State in 1995, became an Eagle Scout, and went on to study at Boston University in 1996.
As a student at Boston University, DaShanne faced being thrown out of his dorm for "smudging," the burning of a small amount of sage or sweetgrass that is a traditional part of many Native American spiritual practices. These experiences of institutionalized discrimination and attacks on his religious freedom prompted him to move to South Dakota to be closer to his Lakota culture.
For many years, DaShanne had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the man he was raised to believe was his biological father. In 1998, however, after a period of being homeless, he managed to reconnect with his long-lost father in an attempt to become an enrolled member of his tribe and win his religious freedom. Shortly after their reunion, however, DaShanne discovered by accident that he was adopted--and that his family, culture, and spirituality were not his.
This plunged DaShanne into a deep personal crisis, but after much soul-searching he discovered that culturally he was still Lakota, that who he was had never changed. With this newfound direction, he founded and managed his own company, Indigenous Creations (2001-2003), before entering graduate study in 2003.
As a graduate student, Stokes founded and directed (2005-2008) the political advocacy group Religious Freedom with Raptors (RFR). Under his leadership, RFR helped inform national discourse about Native American rights and was instrumental in mobilizing opposition and changing the language of California State Senate bill AB1729, a 2007 bill that would have undermined the religious freedom of over 400,000 Native American people. DaShanne's writing about the eagle law was also cited as an authority in the appellant brief and motion for summary judgment in McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Salazar (5th Cir.), a case which helped open the door for Native American members of state-recognized tribes to acquire eagle feathers for their religious and spiritual needs.
Since 2001, Dr. Stokes has become an accomplished writer, speaker, and commentator. He draws on his training as a research scholar as well as his personal experiences to break down complex ideas and events into meaningful and incisive social commentary. He has published dozens of articles on a range of today's important and controversial issues, including the contested use of ethnic team names and mascots, the Boy Scouts LGBT membership controversy, the religious freedom debate surrounding the "eagle feather law," the #BlackOnCampus movement, the controversy surrounding the Donald Trump administration, and many more.
Dr. DaShanne Stokes is an expert on American politics, culture, and civil rights. He has studied domestic and international politics, American foreign policy, power, propaganda, inequality, Native American issues, religious freedom, civil rights--and the complex challenges and contradictions these entail. His scholarly work investigates politics, culture, inequality, and how power is coded, hidden, and reproduced. In his doctoral dissertation, he gathered and analyzed data supporting a theoretical framework he originated that helps scholars and policy makers understand how and why countries are (and sometimes are not) recognized politically as states--a conflicting process that has shaped major social and political conflicts, wars, and even the suppression of citizens' rights. He is currently developing new research investigating the American presidency as well as LGBT inequality.
Dr. Stokes is also the author of the forthcoming memoir, Recomposition. DaShanne's memoir recounts how he survived a traumatic childhood, homelessness, and a devastating family secret that would cost him his family, change his ethnic identity, and put him at risk of imprisonment for following his faith.
DaShanne knows he is one of the luckiest people on earth.
PUBLICITY BIO
To read Dr. Stokes' publicity bio, please click here.
HOW TO PRONOUNCE DASHANNE STOKES' NAME
"DaShanne" is pronounced Duh-Shane, similar to the name Dwayne except replacing "wayne" with "Shanne". It has two syllables, and it is all one name. There are no pauses between the two syllables, and there are no spaces between any of the letters when the name is written or printed. Note that this is just like the name Shane, except that it has a quick and soft d in front of it. Please note that this is a short, soft d, not not a long or hard d like when you say the letter d (which is pronounced dee or 'dē). A dictionary pronunciation guide would look something like this: d'shān.
Dr. Stokes' last name, "Stokes," rhymes with "pokes."
BIO TALKING POINTS AND AUDIENCE INTRODUCTION
You can download DaShanne Stokes' audience introduction and biographical talking points here.
INTERVIEW TOPIC AREAS
- American Politics (Domestic and International)
- Politics and Power
- The Media and Political Propaganda
- Donald Trump and the Trump Administration
- LGBT Rights and Equality
- Bisexuality and Gender
- Civil Rights and Social Justice
- Race and Ethnicity
- Racism and Discrimination
- Religious Freedom
- Adoption and Adoptee Rights
- The Boy Scouts' Anti-Gay Policy and Membership Controversy
- Native American issues
- Native American and ethnic team names and mascots
- The Eagle Feather Law (50 CFR 22)
- Political / Diplomatic Recognition of States
- Federal Recognition of Native American Tribes
- The Recognition of Tibet, Taiwan, and Palestine
- The Art and Craft of Memoir
SAMPLE INTERVIEW TOPICS
Donald Trump and the Trump Administration Controversies
The 2016 U.S. presidential election divided America. From Trump's infamous sexism and bigotry to election interference by the Russian government, no American president has raised so many controversies or questions that cut to the heart of what it means to be American and what lies in store for the future of our nation. Drawing on his expertise as a political scholar, Dr. Stokes has been an outspoken commentator about Donald Trump and the Trump administration. He has shared his fresh views and analyses about Donald Trump and his administration as a featured guest on NPR and the BBC. His commentaries and analyses have also been featured in The Huffington Post and have been quoted around the world in major outlets like USA Today, The Nation, The Hill, BET, and MSN.com.
Coming Out in the Midst of the Orlando Massacre
In 2015, Dr. Stokes worked alongside Scouts for Equality to increase visibility in support of changing the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policy excluding LGBT adults. In his article featured on the Front Page of The Huffington Post, entitled "Coming Out in the Midst of the Orlando Massacre," he discusses his experiences with living in fear, hiding his identity as bisexual, and what lead him to come out of hiding in the midst of the 2016 terrorist attack against a gay nightclub in Orlando, an attack that claimed the life of 49 LGBT people. Dr. Stokes argues that "Only by speaking out can we create lasting change. And that change begins with coming out."
The Face of Racism
Since the election of Barack Obama, many people have been lured into thinking that we have moved into a post-racial society, but racism remains alive and well in the United States. As someone who has experienced both unearned privilege for being racially white, but who has also experienced discrimination for being Native American and for having a "black-sounding" name, DaShanne Stokes has a unique perspective on the state of racism in the United States. In his numerous published articles, media appearances, and university lectures, Dr. Stokes lays bare the unsettling truth about racism in the U.S., why it persists, and what we can do to be a force for change.
Our Fight for Religious Freedom
As someone whose religious freedom has long been denied by the federal government, Dr. DaShanne Stokes has a unique perspective on the First Amendment, the ongoing fight for religious freedom, and what it means to be a U.S. citizen. From 2005 to 2008, Dr. Stokes served as the founder and director of the political advocacy group Religious Freedom with Raptors, the first organization dedicated to changing the federal "eagle feather law," (50 CFR 22) so as to protect religious freedom and promote racial equality. Dr. Stokes' work on religious freedom has appeared in books, publications like The Chronicle of Higher Education and Indian Country Today, and made him a sought-after guest on local and national radio.
Realizing LBGT Equality: The Boy Scouts of America Anti-Gay Policy and Membership Controversy
As an Eagle Scout, DaShanne Stokes witnessed the devastating impact of homophobia when a close friend was thrown out of the Boy Scouts for being gay. As a voice for inclusive scouting with advanced degrees in psychology and sociology, Dr. Stokes combines research and personal experiences to analyze the personal and societal level effects of the Boy Scouts' anti-gay policy and membership controversy, and to shed light on how we can engineer true equality for LGBT people.
Adoptee Rights Are Your Rights, Too
Adoptees come from every race, gender, and sexual orientation. They are your mothers and fathers, your sisters and brothers, your lovers, friends, and coworkers. In the U.S., they number 6 million strong, but their voices touch the lives of tens of millions more. Drawing on recent and historical events, scientific research, and compelling personal experiences as a late discovery adoptee and an advocate for adoptee rights, Dr. Stokes explains how the issue of adoptee rights is about much more than a piece of paper. It is about a fundamental human right we all share, the right to know who we are and where we come from--and realizing true equality for all.
What is it Like Growing Up (Un)Adopted?
Having accidentally discovered that he was adopted at the age of 20 while trying to win his religious freedom, DaShanne Stokes's experiences are as uncommon as they are unsettling. Drawing on harrowing and inspiring events described in his work featured in Adoption Today as well as his forthcoming memoir, Recomposition, Dr. Stokes offers a unique perspective on the meaning of family as well as what it's like to learn about being adopted, the value of family diversity and multiculturalism, and how to find one's place in the adoption community.
PHOTOS
Please feel free to use these photographs in connection with media appearances, articles, and promotions featuring Dr. DaShanne Stokes. Clicking on links below will take you to color and black and white versions of DaShanne Stokes' photographs. By right-clicking on these images and choosing "Save image as," you can save these images to your computer. All images copyright © DaShanne Stokes.
PROMOTIONS
Whenever quoting DaShanne Stokes or promoting his work, please link to http://www.dashannestokes.com.
When publishing an article or book, and whenever posting a review or promotion, please let Dr. Stokes know so that your work can be added to or linked from www.dashannestokes.com.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Get answers to some of Dr. Stokes' most frequently asked questions.
CONTACT
For media interviews and press inquiries, please email
media (at) dashannestokes (dot) com
PROVIDE A TESTIMONIAL
Dr. Stokes' work relies heavily on reviews and word of mouth. Please take a moment to provide a testimonial about your experience with DaShanne, his written work, or with having viewed one of his guest lectures or media appearances. Your support is greatly appreciated and will help inform others about the value of what he does.
