The Kettering Foundation’s Dayton Democracy Fellowship is a one-year program that supports innovative leaders, changemakers, and dreamers who are building movements for inclusive democracy in their communities and in our wider world. This series of articles about the Dayton Democracy Fellows highlights their robust work and the powerful narratives that drive the advancement and defense of democracy. 

Dayton Democracy Fellow Daj’za Demmings doesn’t have “juggling” on her résumé, but she may as well include it. She has so many jobs and activities that it is a wonder how she gets time to sleep. 

Oh, and she has a new baby, too. So much for sleeping. 

During an interview, Demmings listed how she spends her time. She is a community partnership coordinator for Omega Community Development Corporation in northwest Dayton, the founder and executive director of Dayton Young Black Professionals, a board member of the Dayton Young Black Democrats, and teaches civics at Fairview Elementary School, Joe Brown Middle School, and Thurgood Marshall High School. 

Demmings is concerned about democracy and says communication has to be tailored to the audience. “We are trying to have conversations in different ways with different people, but people have to understand. They just can’t hear what you’re talking about. They have to understand what you’re talking about to actually comprehend what you are saying.” 

She said that with technology and the ability of people to look things up on their phones or computers, they at least have more access to information. But people have such a wide variety of reading comprehension and education levels that it is always something that she keeps in mind in her community outreach. 

The most crucial part of her democracy work, Demmings said, starts with children. “With civics we work one-on-one with the kids,” she said. “They have conversations with me that they didn’t realize pertain to democracy. But at the end of our conversations I’m able to say, ‘This is what you have learned.’ And they retain that information. They are able to say to their parents, ‘Hey, Mom, this is who the mayor is. This is who the city commissioners are.’ For kids to be teachers is a big deal. 

“That’s the number one way to attract parents to these issues—through their kids. We did an event where families registered to vote, and we have different elected officials come in to talk to the kids. For example, we had a fifth grader who wants to be the governor when he grows up. So when the mayor came in, they had a conversation about what that looks like. There are small wins that are really big wins,” said Demmings. 

Demmings believes it’s crucial to introduce children to democracy before they get to high school. She established a student senate at Thurgood Marshall High School to provide students with hands-on experience in applying the principles of civic engagement and leadership they learned in her classes. 

Demmings also has a talent for identifying community needs and filling them. One way she did this was by starting the Dayton Young Black Professionals in 2018. 

“The entire point . . . was to provide something that we were looking for, that we needed in our community. We didn’t have a place where we could have a mentorship conversation,” she said. “The group is intergenerational. There is no age limit. We all need to hear each other’s ideas to be able to create these plans that create the world that we want to see.” Of course, she worked on getting members registered to vote. 

Demmings’s work for Omega Community Development Corporation is another extension of everything else she is doing. She connects with businesses, residences, and schools to familiarize them with the services Omega gives to families with fewer resources—food, services, academic help, workforce development, college preparation. “For the people that live in those zip codes in northwest Dayton that we’re worried about, we call that our Hope Zone. [That’s where we’re] trying to create hope, sharpen skills, and develop leaders,” she said. 

Demmings hopes that she and her fellow Dayton Democracy Fellows can pick one big group project and work on it in each of their individual spaces. She smiled and said, “I would like to see what that could look like.” 

Demmings’ mentor is Rhine McLin, the first Black woman mayor of Dayton, and whose impact on the city continues, she said. Reflecting on her own journey, Demmings admitted, “I was once someone who wasn’t involved in politics. Of course, I went to [the polls] with my grandmother every year until I was old enough to vote. It’s very important that we are aware and know what’s going on. And now I understand that if you don’t do politics, politics will do you,” she said. 

Maura Casey is a former editorial writer for the New York Times and has worked with the Kettering Foundation since 2010.

The Charles F. Kettering Foundation Dayton Democracy Fellowship is a one-year program designed to support innovative leaders, changemakers, and dreamers who are building movements for inclusive democracy in their communities and in our wider world.