Lifetime of political interest, advocacy prepared North Dakota Human Rights Coalition's new executive director
Jul. 16—GRAND FORKS — Dalton Erickson, recently named the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition's executive director, looks forward to building connections between organizations across the state and giving them tools that make it easier to get involved in the fight for human rights.
"Information is power," Erickson told the Herald. "There are people out there who want to get engaged, but just don't have the right first steps."
At its core, he said, politics is about humanity — the people behind the issues, their personal stories and experiences. Coming from a long line of service, with relatives in the Navy and Army, Erickson always had an interest in policy and politics.
He recalls standing in a Grand Forks classroom full of children from all backgrounds, facing the U.S. flag, which had a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. beside it, as they recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
"It inspired me, from a very young age," Erickson said.
Admiration for King's dream that everyone could be united and equal — ideals the nation itself was built on — is a core memory from Erickson's youth, he said.
"I've always been set out to fight for the rights of everyone in this nation," Erickson said.
In adulthood, he studied finance and economics, but ultimately left college to pursue a career at the Northlands Rescue Mission, Grand Forks' emergency shelter.
There, he said, he got to meet people and work with them one on one.
"That only empowered me to get more involved, because I would hear the stories of the systemic inequalities and discrimination that would happen to them," he said.
He went on to work with the North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People. Erickson believes housing is a human right, and it's an issue very close to his heart, he said.
His parents were landlords. He recalled a time when a tenant gave up their vehicle in order to pay off late rent, and the vehicle was passed on to Erickson.
"It really hit me, that my first car was someone else's continued spiral into poverty," he said.
From the ND Coalition for Homeless People, Erickson got more and more involved in grassroots organization across various groups. He also worked at UND's law school for a couple years, prior to accepting his current position as executive director for the human rights coalition.
"This job is sort of a dream job," Erickson said. "It's really the combination of all my skills and life work."
In addition to practical experience, he believes his love for people and hearing their stories is one of the biggest reasons he's a good fit for the position.
A strength of the coalition, he said, is recognizing the intersectionality between human rights issues, bringing those from various specialties together to collaborate.
He invites everyone in the state to work together alongside him. Information on how to get involved with the ND Human Rights Coalition is available at
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Erickson also encourages those who want to get involved to contact him directly at Nodakhrc@gmail.com.
"To protect our individual rights, we need to do it collectively," he said.
