Darwin Hamilton

Darwin Hamilton is a fifth generation Austinite whose ancestral home, the historic Dedrick-Hamilton House, was built in the 1870’s by his 2^nd great grandfather, Thomas Dedrick, a former slave and freedman. Today it is the site of the African American Cultural and Heritage Facility in Austin, TX.  Darwin is Senior Accountant with the State Office of Risk Management, having served with the state government for almost 2 decades. Since 2012, Darwin has been actively engaged in reentry education and advocacy. His personal mission is to change criminal justice policies and practices and reduce the stigma carried by formerly incarcerated people by changing ­the ­attitudes of ­community members and those who work within the system.

Darwin has testified before the Austin City Council and the Texas House of Representatives and has delivered keynote speeches for social justice organizations. In 2015 he was featured in the #IAMBLACKAUSTIN inte­ractive campaign by The Greater Austin B­lack Chamber of Commerce. Darwin currently serves as program chair on the board of directors for Grassroots Leadership.  He formerly served a two-year term on the executive committee of the Austin/Travis County Re-entry R­oundtable and co-cha­irs their partner organization, the Reentry Advocacy Project (RAP).