Rather than a man without a country, Donald Cassell, Jr. is a man with two countries – or even three, if you count that other country of which we as Christians dream and are citizens.
A native of Liberia, West Africa, he grew up on the coast in its capital city, Monrovia, before moving to the United States, where he has lived for more than 40 years. Initially, he made his home in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended Wentworth Institute of Technology, receiving both an Associates’ Degree in Architectural Engineering and a B.S. in Architectural Engineering Technology.
The move to the United States and a big, largely secular city left Donald, who’d grown up in a Christian home, needing to understand his faith more deeply. A profound spiritual awakening began to color all of his life – and fuel a growing sense that faith could be foundational in rebuilding his native country too – which was, at the time, marked by civil unrest and unethical leadership.
“I needed to improve the articulation of my faith,” he says, “both spiritually and intellectually. It was closely tied to the betterment of Liberia, but it also took me far beyond that.”
The history of his native country is complicated. The number of people who established Liberia over the course of the 19th century was approximately 20,000 settlers – including some 14,000 African Americans, 5,700 "Recaptives" (Africans removed from slave ships by the U.S. Navy), and 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans who relocated to Liberia.
Established in 1847 by freed American slaves, Liberia became an independent country by referendum, the first such republic in Africa, with a constitution and polity mirroring the United States. It remained stable until 1980, when a violent military coup disrupted a long, delicate process of the country’s coalescence into a nation-state. A second upheaval in 1989 disintegrated into 14 years of civil war and the conflict, corruption, and struggle to just survive left the economy, infrastructure, and country in shambles.
“Destruction came about because people misunderstood each other,” says Donald, whose family perspective is unique, containing members both of the repatriated and the patriate community. The drive to understand spiritual matters more deeply propelled him to seek a Master of Divinity from Reformed Presbyterian Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania upon the completion of his degrees in architecture. There he built friendships with other deep thinkers who became like brothers to him.
In late 1988, he moved to Indy and began two decades as an architect. Although he still maintains his professional designations both in the US and Liberia, his life took a different turn in 2004 while helping plan a visit of then-candidate for the Liberian Presidency (and soon to be elected president of Liberia) to Indiana. During the planning, he was introduced to the Sagamore Institute of Indianapolis, and that relationship has now flourished for almost two decades.
As the Senior Fellow and Director of Liberian Initiatives at Sagamore Institute, Donald’s time and energy are focused into international development and nation building. He has written two books on the subject and a series of papers, and is working now on a third book, "Love Knows No Necessity: Notes on Liberia." It is, he says, his most-explicitly Christian book in its ideas about how Liberia, as it rises, can benefit from a better paradigm.
“Putting God out of the marketplace will always have blowback,” he says – a fact we Americans are dealing with too. But Donald finds in Indy a source of inspiration for his thinking about rebuilding Liberia.
“It is a rich resource spiritually and intellectually for my research,” he says.
Outside of the community he builds within his family, at Citizen 7, and through 2nd Reformed Presbyterian – where he has attended 37 years and served as an elder for more than 30 years – Donald sees the educational system as strategic to any good community. Part of his experience in Indy revolves around The Oaks Academy, where he has seen how children can receive a classical, Christ-centered education in a diverse and caring environment, supported by the community around them specifically, as well as the broader community of Indianapolis. Of his three children, two were homeschooled while
his youngest attended The Oaks.
Donald is married to Choi-ha who was born in Hong Kong, China, with family roots also in England and Holland – and family-building takes on new complexities as they navigate four continents and the unique cultures represented right at home.
DONALD’S IDEAS FOR A BETTER INDY
- Build a good, strong family: “George Bernard Shaw said, ‘Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.’ For me, my Christian faith commitment has been very crucial – the sense that family is very important. If you fail at family it is a significant loss, but the Christian culture teaches me how to love my wife, how to spend time with my children getting to know them, and how to be their teacher. I grew up with that as well, with the teaching of Scripture and great theologians from across the years,” he says. “You need to be developed before you can develop others.”
- Keep coming to C7: “Citizen 7 brings men together for service in the community and beyond,” says Donald. “It serves as a catalyst to encourage men in good works and service. It matters because it contributes to spiritual growth, builds stronger communities, provides for a support network and allows for the accomplishment of larger projects.” Because of his association with C7, Donald has also developed relationship with a mentor whose “influence in my life has been decisive,” he says.
DONALD CASSELL TRIVIA
- Favorite hobby besides work: Taking long walks and reading good books
- Go-to snack & beverage: Peanuts or cashews and tea
- Favorite local restaurant: Any good Chinese restaurant
- Favorite vacation spot: The ancient port city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, “the Pearl of the Adriatic”
- Secret dream: To see Liberia become a competent, wholesome, functioning, flourishing society and state
Please reach out and connect with Donald at donald@sagamoreinstitute.org
