Durmerrick (pronounced: duh-mAIR-rick) is a nationally recognized, award-winning speaker and performance poet whose work confronts the intersections of Blackness, queerness, faith, mental health, and institutional injustice with urgency and care. In 2023, he reached a landmark mental health settlement with Howard University without an attorney—an action that helped spark an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation and inspired new organizing efforts across HBCUs. He continues to work with students, alumni, and advocacy groups to push for lasting structural change. His creative work has been featured by the NAACP, LACMA, Coca-Cola, All Def, and the Pan African Film Festival. Offstage, he brings that same commitment to his professional life, supporting the careers of talent whose stories shift culture and imagine new possibilities.
Durmerrick’s artistry is rooted in the belief that storytelling can inspire justice—guided by the words of Tupac Shakur: “I may not change the world, but I’ll inspire the mind that does.”
