Donté Clark facts for kids

Donté Clark is a talented poet, actor, and community leader from North Richmond, California. He works with young people in the Richmond area. Donté helps them express themselves through art and make a positive difference in their community.

Donté Clark's Early Journey

When Donté was in high school, his English teacher, Molly Raynor, started a special arts program called RAW Talent. She invited Donté to join. He became the main artistic leader for the program's first play, Té's Harmony. This play looked at important local issues, using ideas from the famous story Romeo and Juliet.

A well-known poet named Luis J. Rodriguez introduced the play. Later, a documentary film called Romeo Is Bleeding was made in 2015. It showed Donté as he wrote and performed Té's Harmony.

Becoming a Poet Laureate

In July 2014, Donté Clark was given a special honor. He, along with Lincoln Bergman and Brenda Quintanilla, became poets laureate for the city of Richmond. This means they were chosen to represent the city through poetry for two years. They followed Dwayne Parish in this role. After them, Daniel Ari, Ciera-Jevai Gordon, and Rob Lipton became the next poets laureate.

Inspiring Young People

Donté Clark loves to mentor and guide young people in his community. Because of his help, some of these young people have grown up to become mentors and teachers themselves. One example is the poet and actor DeAndre Evans. DeAndre appeared with Donté and Will Hartfield, reciting poetry for a PBS story about housing in Richmond.

Donté Clark's Acting Roles

Besides his poetry and community work, Donté Clark has also acted in films and web series. He had a supporting role in the 2016 movie Kicks. He also appeared in the 2018 film Code Switch. You can also see him starring in the web series called The North Pole.

Collections

• KNOWFREEDOM (2018, self-published)

See also

• List of municipal poets laureate in California