Instagram story viewer> @dexterdevans> Posts

Dexter D. Evans

@dexterdevans

1.7K

followers

1922

following

Dad. Doc. EVP @thenmaam 🎶
Taking Black music to the world
HBCU + Ivy League educated. Military-trained
$25M+ raised. Movements started. Dreams funded

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Raising millions. Raising babies. Raising the bar 🎓

Allow me to reintroduce myself: Dr. Dexter D. Evans, PhilD: first-gen doctorate, inaugural cohort, youngest in the class. That means more years to build, more time to disrupt, more impact to create. The trajectory just changed forever.

From Muskegon Heights @muskegon_heights_tigers, to my forever HBCU @paulquinncollege, to @penngse where I became the first ever Paul Quinn alum to attend an Ivy League institution, to this first ever professional doctorate from @iu.philanthropy

The work continues. 🖤🔥 #ImGoodOnAnyMLKBlvd ✊🏾 by @dexterdevans

366

99

4 months ago

Tuesday night hit different.

Got to chop it up with billionaire entrepreneur & philanthropist @robertfredericksmith at @thenmaam about his book Lead Boldly—breaking down Dr. King’s blueprint for real leadership.

But check it—the dopest part happened before we even touched the stage.

Robert pulls up to the green room, makes me a coffee, sits down and just… asks about my story. My whole journey. Not the museum pitch first. Just genuine curiosity. Here’s somebody moving billions and he’s fully locked in, asking questions, vibing with where NMAAM is headed.

Then this 11-year-old kid Carter Hammonds starts playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” backstage. Robert literally stands up mid-convo with me and walks out to catch it. Just posted up behind the curtain taking it all in. Before Carter even finishes, Robert’s already plotting how to connect him to @carnegiehall.

That’s what it looks like when you really about it.

On stage we got into everything—King’s “insufficient funds” check, what it takes to stay in the game when everybody got something to say, the whole nine. Robert’s opening answer stopped the room: “We are enough.”

Not that surface-level motivational speaker enough. That deep, theological, actually-means-something enough. Like we really are who we been waiting for.

Oh, and I completely butchered the word “valiantly” in front of 200 people. Whole room cracked up. But real talk, that moment broke the ice and made everything feel more human.

Light. Heavy. Honest.

This wasn’t just a book talk. This is the start of real partnerships—scaling NMAAM’s education nationwide, taking our digital platform global.

Dr. King asked if we’d be bold enough to step in the arena.
Tuesday reminded me we got everything we need. When we recognize that? It’s limitless.

Swipe for the vibes.

#LeadBoldly #RobertFSmith #NMAAM #DrKing #Culture #BlackExcellence #WeAreEnough #MusicEducation #TheConversation taken in National Museum of African American Music by @dexterdevans

3

12

a year ago

I was looking for what to wear to #Jeezy concert, and couldn’t find inspiration, so I made inspiration for the next fan. The concert was 🔥 and gone too soon! Appreciate it @jeezy @colorofnoize @djdrama @urbaanitenashville

#jeezy #jeezyconcert #jeezyorchestraconcert #outfit #nashville #musiccity #blacktie #blackmusic #hiphop #blackmenwithstyle #blackmenswear #tophat #beard #music #concert #tpac #thugmotivation #motivation taken in Nashville, Tennessee by @dexterdevans

198

21

a year ago

Four years ago this month, I walked into @thenmaam as Director of Individual Giving.

Today I’m honored to share that I’ve been named Executive Vice President of Innovation and Global Engagement.

My charge: take the story of Black music beyond our walls on Broadway and share it with the country and the world.

Grateful to President Bill Jeffries for the trust and the runway. To a team that shows up every day. To the artists, donors, and partners who keep saying yes. And to the mentors who saw this in me before I could see it in myself.

Nashville will always be our home. But it was never meant to be the boundary of our impact.

The music starts here. Now we take it everywhere.

Let’s build. 🖤

#NMAAM #BlackMusic #WhereLegendsLiveForever #Nashville #MusicHistory CulturalPreservation BlackExcellence taken in National Museum of African American Music by @dexterdevans

83

34

7 days ago

When the board approved your audacious international growth campaign @thenmaam. Bill & Dex 💥🚀

#fundraiserlife #philanthropy taken in National Museum of African American Music by @dexterdevans

192

54

10 days ago

Free your mind and your ass will follow. 🏛️✊🏾🛸

George Clinton at @thenmaam. One Nation IS Under A Groove.

That’s it. That’s the post.

@yolikegeorge @wesoundcrazy @zulubruhz taken in Nashville, Tennessee by @dexterdevans

48

2

12 days ago

Two Nissans in the driveway. David counted them before I did.

Nissan let us borrow an Armada for the weekend so we ran up to Michigan to see my folks and my grandparents. Last trip before school took over. David had already started kindergarten and was so ready.

Alex drove mostly. I loved using the multiple cameras to park. Desmond wore his yogurt.

Loaded my grandad’s leaf blower, my grandmother’s beach photos, and a globe I couldn’t leave behind, all on top of what we already had. Still had room.

Thank you Nissan for covering mine.

Vehicle provided by Nissan. taken in Muskegon, Michigan by @dexterdevans

36

5

17 days ago

Philadelphia didn’t disappoint.

500+ Black museum leaders. Three days. One city that knows exactly what this work means.

“This is the family reunion of all family reunions. This is the cookout. The homecoming of Black museums.”

Proud to represent @thenmaam alongside @alyssadituro at #AAAM2026. We came to learn, connect, and bring it all back home to Nashville.

The field is in good hands. And we are just getting started.

Music starts here. 🎵

#AAAM2026 #BlackMuseums #NMAAM #MusicStartsHere taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @dexterdevans

85

7

a month ago

Thank you for this summer babe ❤️ by @dexterdevans

146

19

2 months ago

Nashville loves you, PJ. And the feeling is Mutual.

Sold out at the CMA Theater tonight. Zero surprise.

A month ago you trusted the National Museum of African American Music to hold Saturday Night Sunday Morning — the album, the arc, the man. Curator. Philanthropist. Scholar. Artist. Friend.

Enjoy the show tonight, brother. Nashville is going to give it right back to you.

Come experience the exhibition at @theNMAAM through September 30.

The soundtrack continues.

#PJMorton #SaturdayNightSundayMorning #NMAAM #Nashville taken in National Museum of African American Music by @dexterdevans

94

11

2 months ago

the last photos of @yrntakeoff. captured by @lilcoachtmbtc nathan chenault in october 2022. intimate. real. human.

months later, takeoff was gone. these images became something bigger than a photoshoot. they became preservation. they became legacy.

we just installed them permanently in our fine arts gallery at @thenmaam. had the honor of having nathan and @coachk44 there for it. watched them stand in front of these photos. watched how a father’s belief in his son’s art translates into cultural stewardship.

this is what we do. we don’t just collect music history. we honor the photographers. the painters. the visual artists who witness the moment and help us remember.

if you’re in nashville, come see “the last rocket.” it’ll change how you think about what gets preserved and why it matters.

📍 nmaam.org

#thelastrocket #nathanchenault #culturalpreservation taken in National Museum of African American Music by @dexterdevans

79

10

2 months ago

A month later and this one’s still with me.

After leading Black Music Month at @theNMAAM this year, one of the calls I’m most proud of was bringing @myaplanet9 to Nashville as our Soundtrack Marshal. And one of the honors was getting to steward her around the city myself, in a 2026 Nissan Armada, thanks to @nissanusa.

Coolest, most casual moment: I asked if she had any tunes she wanted to hear. She said, “whatever you’re vibing to works for me.” I was in my Jon Batiste bag, playing Big Money, and next thing I know we’re both singing “Lean On My Love,” her going in from the backseat. Just a beautiful moment. Class act, super humble, every bit the artist you’d hope, and then some.

That’s what Black Music Month does. It puts you in a room, in a car, in a conversation with the artists who built the soundtrack.

Because life really is what you make it. And she’s made hers unforgettable.

Thank you @myaplanet9 for the trust and the presence, and @dyanawilliams, Mother of Black Music Month, for a conversation only you could lead.

The soundtrack continues…

#BlackMusicMonth #NMAAM

#TheSoundtrackContinues #Mya #NissanUSA taken in National Museum of African American Music by @dexterdevans

63

10

2 months ago