Deja Foxx (@dejafoxx), founder of GenZGirlGang, has used her personal experience and challenges to advocate for others and foster the next generation of activists.
Why did you get involved in politics?
I didn't choose politics; politics chose me. I was raised by a single mom below the poverty line. I grew up in Section 8 housing and on food stamps and knew from a very young age what it was like to have the resources I needed to survive and thrive controlled by elected officials often outside of my reach. When I was 15, I moved out of my mom's home due to issues of substance abuse. It was through that lens, living with my boyfriend at the time, that I saw how outdated the sex education I was receiving in my Arizona school district was. I started showing up to school board meetings and telling my story, and I never looked back. I've scaled up my work fighting for birth control access and abortion and working in digital strategy, having been one of the youngest presidential campaign staffers in modern history at just 19.
You're a multihyphenate activist, college student, model, strategist, and founder — what's your advice to others who are worried about stepping outside of their comfort zone and finding what they're meant to do?
Start personal. Find the issues that are impacting you personally. Where does your life intersect with what you're hearing in the news? Then, get to know your personal story. Each and every one of us has our own unique story, and there is no one else who can tell it. What's yours, and how can you use it as an agent of change? And then, lastly, bring your personal network along with you! If they care about you, they'll care about what you care about.
You've said that you want to be President someday. What does the country look like under a Foxx administration?
I am committed to the vision of reproductive justice, a framework created by Black women and tied to the organization Sister Song. That vision isn't just about being able to choose if and when to have children; it is also about being able to raise them in communities that are healthy, thriving, and free from the threats of climate change, police brutality, and the rise of hate and nationalism. It is also a future where everyone's — and I mean everyone's — right to bodily autonomy is respected and protected.
