About Us
Founded in Washington, DC in 2019, The Dap Acknowledgement Project, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the everyday stories that shape Black identity, culture, and community. What began as a curiosity about a simple gesture — the dap — evolved into a dynamic exploration of how Black men and communities communicate love, resistance, joy, and recognition through unspoken language.
Rooted in Story. Connected by Culture.
We document and honor these moments through interviews, photography, education, and collaborative exhibits — working hand in hand with neighborhoods, artists, and storytellers. From barbershops to art galleries, front porches to festivals, we believe these spaces hold the soul of a community. Our work invites people to slow down and listen — to recognize how personal narratives become collective history.
What “Dap” Means to Us
More than a handshake, dap is a cultural exchange. It’s a greeting, a bond, a nod of respect — a form of nonverbal communication passed through generations of Black men and boys. It holds joy and power, grief and pride. Dap is a love language — and through our work, we aim to archive its meaning while celebrating the people and places that give it life.
Our Work Is Powered By Community
Whether you’ve shared a story, visited an exhibit, tuned into the podcast, or simply passed along a photo — you’re a part of this archive. Every handshake captured. Every memory preserved. Every conversation recorded. Together, we’re honoring the soul of our neighborhoods and keeping the culture alive.
Meet The Hosts
AARON
STALLWORTH
I was born in Fort Worth, TX, raised in Marshall, TX and have spent my adult years in Washington, DC.
My pursuits for higher education took me to big state schools, HBCUs and the Ivy League. I am an educator at heart and by trade. I am also a lover of music, mainly hip-hop and jazz.
Like many of my fellow black men, Dap became an innate form of communication between one another. In school hallways, at church, on the basketball court, in the barbershop, on the shore of the Nile River, DAP is a language among black men that I know well but have learned so much about through The Dap Project interviews.
I hope TDP brings a smile to your face, a better understanding of black men, some food for thought, and further affirmation of the love and humanity that exists within us.
RHONDA HENDERSON
I was born and raised in the District, in Chocolate City.
I grew up in a big family in a quiet neighborhood called Manor Park and graduated from DC Public Schools.
Professionally, I am an educator. I have attended fancy graduate schools and worked in spaces where black boys and men are defined by statistics that track their societal ostracization, and academic deficits. We who love and spend time with black men and boys know differently, and call “bullshit”.
It is against this backdrop that I am curious about how black men preserve and create joy amongst one another in the seven-second dap. I am so appreciative of these stories that the guys have shared with us, the little pieces of themselves that make them who they are and make us who we are as black people.
"I see the value in everyone...that's all it really took for me —
is someone to say, I see you. I see your value."
- SHARECE CRAWFORD
