Brother Derrick Parker Jr. (Spring 2017) Profiled In Summer 2020 Issue Of HBCU Times

Harvard Law School student Derrick Parker, Jr. graduated as valedictorian from Morehouse College in 2018. He is a first-generation college student from Kansas City, Missouri. Derrick’s mother is a factory worker, and his father is a barber. Derrick has always been a highly motivated gentleman. At Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Derrick’s high school, he was 1st Chair Trombone in both the jazz band and wind ensemble. Derrick was also elected Senior Class President, Homecoming King, Prom King, and was also 1st Team All-Conference starting quarterback on the football team.

Pictured above: Parker with his undergraduate Brothers of Alpha Rho Chapter at Morehouse College.

At Morehouse College, Derrick was also heavily involved on campus. He served as Attorney General for the Student Government Association, a Presidential Ambassador, and Vice-President of the Moot Court Team. He was also President of the Sophomore Class and President of DuBois International Hall. While in college, he interned for the U.S. House of Representatives for Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, served as Campaign Manager for City Councilman Jermaine Reed, and interned with the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (Representative Billy Mitchell) and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.

Pictured above: Parker, as valedictorian of the 2018 graduating class at Morehouse College.

He was one of the youngest people selected to participate in the prestigious Harvard/NYU Trails Law Program. He graduated as the highest-ranking scholar in his class, a junior inductee into Phi Beta Kappa – the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society, a Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar Finalist, as well as valedictorian. Derrick was accepted into more than 19 different law schools upon graduation. Including his dream school – Harvard Law School – where his is currently a second-year student.

Pictured above: Parker's interview with Kansas City's NBC41 Action Newson on new mentoring initiative in Kansas City Public Schools.

At Harvard Law School, Derrick is equally as impressive. He is on the executive board of the Black Law Students Association and also a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, where he represents indigent clients in civil matters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts courts and where he assumes direct responsibility for representation of clients from intake interview to final disposition. Additionally, he is a member of the Harvard Defenders Program where he advocates on behalf of low-income individuals accused in criminal show cause hearings.

Pictured above: With more than 60 Black students, Harvard Law School's class of 2021 is one of the largest class of Black J.D. candidates in the educational institution's history.

Derrick has also had the opportunity to work at some of the world’s premier law firms. Last summer, Derrick worked at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York City and this summer he will work at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, also in NYC.

[Brother Parker was initiated in the nation’s oldest Black Greek Letter organization, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., in Spring 2017 (Inimitable 24) via the Alpha Rho Chapter at Morehouse College]

Pictured above: Spring 2017 initiates of Alpha Rho Chapter -- the Inimitable 24.