Political pathways: Meet 4 young Black Ohio legislators making a difference

The Ohio Statehouse is full of young leaders with bright ideas influenced by their own backgrounds.

Of them, four are in their first or second terms, in their early 30s and leaders within the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, an organization whose members fight for issues important to Black Ohioans.

They talked to the Dispatch about their backgrounds, their passions, how and why they got into state politics and advice for other young people hoping to lead — inside or outside of the Statehouse.

Learn more about Reps. Sedrick Denson, Latyna Humphrey, Dontavius Jarrells and Terrence Upchurch.

Rep. Sedrick Denson, (D-Cincinnati)

Age: 35

Elected: 2019

Second vice president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus

Denson grew up in Cincinnati in big family with "a lot of love" and never imagined he'd become a legislator.

"I thought I would be on a stage in New York somewhere," Denson said. "My background is in the arts."

Denson went to a local performing arts school and joined in on a touring Broadway show in the 1990s before doing some local shows at the Cincinnati Opera, and joining international dance companies. His mother made it clear that he had to go to college, so he went to the University of Cincinnati, what he thought of as a "fall back" if the stage didn't work out.

He ended up working on the city council campaign of Wendell Young, a family friend. Despite the candidate losing three times, Denson was hooked on politics. The family friend ended up being appointed to Cincinnati City Council later on, and Denson served as his chief of staff for seven years.

He ran for office because he was intrigued with political processes and realized he could start to make a change if elected. It helped that many Cincinnatians were familiar with him.

It's hard for Denson to choose one issue that's important to him, as he feels there are so many that matter.

He believes environmental policy can be related to economic growth and job opportunities, and thinks new ideas in the space could be transformative. Some things the state does when it comes to environmental policies don't make it easy for large companies to keep Ohio at the top of the list of where to locate, he said. The more innovative the state gets, such as when it comes to expanding the use of solar energy or even creating a community garden in an urban area, the more new opportunities can be created, he added.

"We're smart enough, we're bold enough and we have enough people that are progressive enough in thought that we can start thinking about those things now," Denson said.

To young people and his younger self, Denson would say to "take your time."

"We all are guilty of being in a rush to hurry up and get everything done," he said. "It's good because it keeps you busy, but I say take your time and do your homework. Be diligent about it and be real about it. ... Take the time to invest yourself in something you're working on."

Rep. Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus)

Age: 31

Elected: 2022 (appointed before that in 2021)

Secretary of Ohio Legislative Black Caucus

Humphrey was raised on the Near East Side of Columbus and graduated from Columbus East High School. She worked in banking before getting involved in politics at the end of 2015 through voter registration drives and leading young Black democrats.

She worked for Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano and a local judge, has written two books and speaks across the country about self-motivation and politics.

One of her professors at Ohio State University's Newark campus, where she attended but didn't graduate from (she is a graduate of Columbus State Community College), inspired her and helped her develop a love of politics. The two would debate back and forth, and he helped her grow her existing love for the social justice movement, civil rights movement and leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy.

After the class, Humphrey started studying other leaders and saw herself in former Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner.

"I see a strong African American woman who I look like, who has this passion that I knew I had inside of me but nobody else knew," she said.

She remembers in 2015 feeling like she was called to serve and should focus on that. Once she did, Humphrey's whole life changed. From there, it was a journey that included positioning herself for leadership through service, despite the fact that she said, "I knew I didn't have the background."

"I'm not willing to be outworked. You cannot outwork me," Humphrey said. "It's going to be very hard to do that."

She's passionate about criminal justice reform and re-entry specifically, especially as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother. She wants to make sure people have the tools necessary to re-enter society after serving time.

But she also cares about workforce development, economic opportunity and making sure her constituents on Columbus' East Side have what they need to be successful.

Her advice to others: "You're going to have to work on it every day, especially if you want to be successful."

Rep. Dontavius Jarrells, (D-Columbus)

Age: 35

Elected: 2020

Treasurer of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and Ohio House Assistant Minority Leader

Jarrells grew up in Cleveland and said he was always in the community advocating for better conditions for those who lived there. In college, he majored in political science and economics and learned the system and how to analyze it.

"That led me down a path to really want to impact policy at a system level," he said. Then, he was a legislative service commission fellow and "learned very early on how important it was to have a good representative in the Statehouse because the work we do in this body literally impacts the day-to-day experiences of people in the state."

After his fellowship, he worked in behavioral health policy for seven years and traveled the state to address inequities around the opioid epidemic.

Jarrells is passionate about many issues, but said they're all "kitchen-table based," or the challenges families discuss when gathered together.

Those include making ends meet financially, the benefits cliff − when low-wage workers turn down promotions to prevent losing much-needed benefits − and other disparities that he said he knows "drive the human experience in communities."

Jarrells is a lead poisoning survivor, and environmental justice is important to him, too.

His advice for young people comes from his grandmother, who told him long ago that "'where you come from does not determine where you go.'"

"I remember saying that to myself oftentimes during points of contention, thinking, 'What does it take? What does it mean to be the best leader you can? To move people to a better place?'" he said.

"You have to love people enough to fight for them, and I love my residents, every single one of them. ... I would tell my younger self to continue to love people and to love this state enough to think it can be better than it is today."

Rep. Terrence Upchurch, (D-Cleveland)

Age: 34

President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus

Elected: 2018

Upchurch grew up in a single-parent household in Cleveland's inner city, where he says he saw the neighborhood at its best and worst, given the amount of poverty.

His neighborhood and experiences there growing up shaped his character and political mind, Upchurch said.

Before becoming a politician, he volunteered on campaigns and worked for a community development corporation in Collinwood, specializing in business development and community outreach.

"Those experiences really helped me begin to have a drive to run for office because I enjoyed talking to people and hearing different stories and hearing different experiences," Upchurch said.

As an intern for Cleveland City Council, he saw the impact state budget cuts had on the local level and knew he wanted to serve in state politics.

Now, he's passionate about workforce development and preparing young people to be successful with or without higher education.

He advocates for connecting businesses with high schools to help students transition into careers, and wants to bring back vocational training.

"I've seen what joblessness and poverty can do to a neighborhood, and what it can do to families," Upchurch said. "We have a lot of young talent in our schools, and we need to tap into our young people."

His advice to young people is to never give up.

"We will all have our opportunity to really make change," he said.

Editor's note: In a future story, the Dispatch will profile Black Republican lawmakers as well.

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: These young Black Ohio legislators want to create change