Meet the youngest staffer working on a presidential hopeful's campaign.
At just 19-years-old, Deja Foxx is the youngest person to have worked on presidential hopeful, Kamala Harris' campaign. She's both an activist and influencer strategist but her real eyes are set on becoming president of the United States herself one day.
Video Transcript
- Deja, take three.
DEJA FOXX: What I do is I work for people. Being a woman of color, being a first-generation American, being raised by a single mom, my life has always been political.
- Two, four, six, eight! [INAUDIBLE] NRA!
DEJA FOXX: My name is Deja Foxx. I'm 19 years old. And I'm an activist, organizer, bad ass, future president of the United States. I work as the influencer, surrogate strategist, on the Kamala Harris Campaign for the People. She represents for me what the changing face of America looks like.
There's never been a more important election. We are at a place where not only is the moral of our country on the line--
- What?
DEJA FOXX: --but also, there is immediate impact. There are irreversible effects of climate change. And there is this rise of nationalism and hate in this country that, if we do not act in this moment, we may never be able to. And as a young person watching my future being decided by people who will not be affected, I knew I had to get into this fight.
I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. I was raised by a single mom. She and I struggled to cover those most basic expenses. I remember wanting to be president in third grade. But it wasn't until college when I felt like I could say it out loud. There have been 45 male presidents, 44 white ones. And there's enough room for me and all of my sisters.
I'd love to see a future where the people in power look like everyday people. And part of that is taking up space, taking up positions of power, saying that I am deserving, I'm capable. There is no way that we will achieve representation in political office if people like me don't run. She let us in the park.
- In front of the US capitol.
DEJA FOXX: This is my house. I don't wear shoes at my house.
- The realization that I think a lot of us have had is that, like, this is the time. This is the time to do the work. It's the time to dig down.
DEJA FOXX: I had been involved in Planned Parenthood since I was 15. We were seeing legislators like Jeff Flake trying to defund Planned Parenthood.
As a Planned Parenthood patient and someone who relies on Title X, why is your right to take away my right to choose?
[CHEERING]
When I was talking to Senator Jeff Flake, I asked him how, as a white, privileged man, he could make decisions for someone like me? And his answer was that he supports policies that support the American dream. And I had to then ask him, obviously, why he would deny me the American dream? When the video of me at the town hall went viral, I was so not ready.
To have your life immediately exposed to 17 million people was terrifying. But I think that that moment resonated across the country. Because it was something that so many people were feeling. They were feeling that, since this Trump administration, they had been left out, or that people weren't listening to their stories, and politicians weren't seeing them as people.
Gen Z is incredibly expansive. Now, keep your fist up! Feel your individual power. Our power to make change, our power to be heard and seen.
We know that we are the ones inheriting these tremendous problems, that we will feel the most impact. It is our responsibility to create a world that we want to live in.
