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Donald Northcross was born
February 22, 1959 in Ashdown, Arkansas, the
seventh of seven children. Raised by
devotedly religiously parents, Donald was
taught at a very early age to value family,
honesty, hard work and civic responsibility.
In his youth, Donald excelled in sports. In
1978, after graduating from Ashdown High
School, he signed a combination football and
basketball scholarship to attended Northeast
Louisiana University where he played for
former Heisman Trophy winner John David
Crowe. A criminal justice major, Donald
remained at NLU until 1981, after which he
transferred to Arkansas State University. He
attended Arkansas State University from 1981
until 1982 where he finished his college
athletic career, and went on to sign a three
year contract with the Memphis Showboats of
the United Stated Football League.
After injuries halted his professional
football career he moved to Sacramento,
California and enrolled in the Sacramento
County Sheriff’s Academy to pursue his
second passion, law enforcement. In June of
1988, he not only graduated from the academy
but he was also voted the most inspirational
recruit by his peers. The natural leadership
abilities he demonstrated as a recruit
continued to manifest themselves and two
year after joining the force, he became the
first President of the Sacramento County
Black Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
As president of the Black Deputy Sheriff’s
Association, Mr. Northcross established an
aggressive agenda of civic responsibility
that encouraged his members to move beyond
the traditional roles of law enforcement by
using the unique power and influence they
possessed as black officers in a more
proactive way. At the heart of his agenda
was the high rate of incarceration and
homicides of young black men and the
devastating impact that it was having on the
black community in general and the black
family in particular. In 1990, his mounting
desire to reverse the grim statistics that
young black boys were facing led him to
found the O.K. (Our Kids) Program, an
innovative mentoring program that organized
black men from the community to work with
young black males living in one of the most
violent inner city neighborhoods in
Sacramento County.
In 1991, as a result of the monumental
success of the O.K. Program, Mr. Northcross
was selected as California’s Outstanding
Young Public Safety Officer of The Year. In
subsequent years, his program continued to
thrive and some of the nation’s most
influential leaders continued to reward his
efforts. In 1992, he was recognized by
President George Bush as the 945th Daily
Point of Light For The Nation. In 1993, he
received a resolution from Speaker Willie
Brown for his work through the O.K. Program,
and he also received the first “Community
Service Award” ever given by Governor Pete
Wilson. In that same year, he was selected
as a Black in Law Enforcement Honoree which
is a national publication that emphasizes
the value of the black law enforcement
officer in the overall success of law
enforcement in America. A few months later,
he became one of ten people in California to
receive a fellowship from the California
Wellness Foundation.
In 1994, his awarding winning program was
not only credited with the increased
academic performance of the young boys who
were members, but it was also credited for
the monumental reduction of crime and gang
violence seen in Rancho Cordova—the violent
inner city community in which most of the
boys resided. As a result, Mr. Northcross
was the 1994 recipient of the Jefferson
Award and later that year, he was named
Sacramento Safe Street Hero of The Year. The
following year, he won the National
Association of Attorney Generals “For the
Children Award.” And in 2005, under his
leadership, the award winning O.K. Program
became a national organization.
A much sought after speaker and consultant,
Mr. Northcross has appeared on numerous
panels, and radio and television shows to
discuss issues ranging from crime and
punishment to parenting. In 1994, he
appeared on Court TV, with Harvard Professor
Author Miller as the moderator, and debated
the controversial three strikes initiative.
Recently he was one of numerous experts
assembled in Little Rock, Arkansas to
discuss President Obama’s 2010 Fatherhood
Initiative.
A strong advocate of the role that black men
must play in solving the problems currently
plaguing the black community, Mr. Northcross
recently accepted a position as Dean of Men
at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock
Arkansas.
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