Deja Foxx

Deja Foxx
Foxx in 2020
Born (2000-04-18) April 18, 2000[1]
Alma materColumbia University
Years active2017 – present
OrganizationGenZ Girl Gang
Political partyDemocratic
Websitedejafoxx.com

Deja Cherise Operana-Foxx (born April 18, 2000[1]) is an American politician and activist, who is a candidate in the special election for Arizona's 7th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously campaigned for Kamala Harris in her 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, and first came to national prominence as a supporter of Planned Parenthood.

Early life and education

Foxx is a Filipino American who grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she attended a magnet school, University High School.[2][3][4] She was raised in Section 8 housing and had to rely on food stamps.[5] When she was 15 years old, she stopped living with her mother, who struggled with mental illness and substance abuse, and had to stay at various friends' houses.[3][6] Foxx worked at a gas station for two years to help support her mother.[7]

While at school, she successfully campaigned to change the sex education curriculum, to increase its relevance.[8] In her senior year, she became a founding member of El Rio Community Health Center's Reproductive Health Access Project, which was set up to provide reproductive health care to young people in the Tucson area.[7] She won a Community Innovation Award from the Society for Science in 2018 for a study exploring the frequencies and relationships of age, race, insurer, and BMI to rate of C-sections.[9]

In 2018, Foxx began studying political science at Columbia University in New York City, where she had a full scholarship. Foxx made the dean's list for her academic performance.[10] She later became a race and ethnicity major and graduated in 2023, the first in her family to attend and graduate college.[11][12]

Political career and activism

Foxx first came to national prominence in April 2017 when she challenged Senator Jeff Flake at a town hall meeting in Mesa, Arizona, for his plans to defund Planned Parenthood.[13] In June 2017, when Foxx travelled to Washington, D.C. to campaign for the organization, The Washington Post called her "the new face of Planned Parenthood".[3][8]

Foxx founded GenZ Girl Gang, "an Instagram community determined to redefine sisterhood for a new generation" in April 2019.[14] She later explained that one purpose of the organization was to "translate this idea of solidarity... into a digital space, because more and more that's where we're spending our time."[6] In May 2019, Foxx was named a MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam ambassador, a lipstick brand which donates the proceeds of its sales to fighting HIV/AIDS.[15]

In 2019, Foxx was invited to join the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris as a full-time staff member by Harris' niece, Meena Harris.[16] Foxx took her sophomore year off college and moved to Baltimore, Maryland. She focused on digital organizing and messaging and described her own role as "influencer and surrogate strategist." After Harris withdrew from the election, Foxx created a digital campaign for Ignite the Vote, a get out the vote organization whose national bus tour was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

On June 30, 2022, Foxx was arrested during a protest in Washington, D.C. against the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court six days earlier in the decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The protest was organized by the Center for Popular Democracy, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Working Families Party. Foxx was arrested alongside 180 others.[11] She featured in TikTok, Boom., a documentary which premiered in October 2022 about the social media platform TikTok.[18] In 2023, she won a Global Citizen Prize for her "reproductive and sexual health advocacy."[19]

Foxx spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where she was one of 200 content creators in attendance.[20] In 2024, she also campaigned in support of Arizona Proposition 139, an amendment establishing a right to abortion in the Constitution of Arizona.[21]

On April 2, 2025, Foxx announced her candidacy for the special election in Arizona's 7th congressional district, vacant following the death of incumbent Raúl Grijalva.[22][23]

In 2025, Foxx gave a TED Talk advocating for digital platforms built by and for women, that prioritize safety, ownership and respect.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Foxx, Deja (2020-04-18). "Deja'a 20th Birthday Fundraiser". Retrieved 2023-05-05. Today's my 20th birthday and I'm asking y'all for the best gift. The ability to give back.
  2. ^ Resnick, Hannah (June 4, 2021). "11 Facts About Deja Foxx, the Activist Who Might Just Be Our Future President". Pop Sugar. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Somashekhar, Sandhya (June 8, 2017). "This teen is the new face of Planned Parenthood. 'I wanted all the chances everyone else had.'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  4. ^ Pittenger, Angela (April 19, 2017). "Tucson's Deja Foxx on eloquently confronting Sen. Flake and running for president". This is Tucson. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  5. ^ Bateman, Kristen (October 4, 2021). "Deja Foxx Wants to Be Your Future POTUS". The Cut. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Marks, Andrea (February 24, 2021). "The Power of Deja Foxx". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Papisova, Vera (November 5, 2018). "21 Under 21: Deja Foxx Says Homeless Students Like Her Need to Tell Their Stories". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "5 Planned Parenthood Patients Lobbied Congress and Proved They Are Rockstars". Planned Parenthood Action Fund. June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  9. ^ "This young Indian scientist is inventing an accessible bike for the disabled". Society for Science. May 29, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  10. ^ R., Koyaana (August 29, 2019). "Back to School with Deja Foxx". Rebag. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Gulino, Elizabeth; Foxx, Deja (October 12, 2022). "Deja Foxx: I Was Arrested Protesting For Abortion Rights — & I'd Do It Again". Refinery 29. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  12. ^ "This feminist is organizing for reproductive rights in Arizona and is one of the youngest presidential campaign staffers in history". Feminist. August 14, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  13. ^ Sheth, Sonam (April 15, 2017). "'Why is it your right to take away my right to choose?': Teenager slams top Republican senator during testy town hall". Business Insider.
  14. ^ Gontcharova, Natalie (May 3, 2019). "At 16, She Schooled A Senator On Planned Parenthood & That Was Just The Beginning". Refinery29. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Rearick, Lauren (May 1, 2019). "Deja Foxx Was Named a M.A.C Viva Glam Ambassador". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  16. ^ Meredith, Karenna (June 24, 2021). "Deja Foxx, Kamala Harris's Youngest Campaign Staffer, Is Ready to Be Your Gen Z President". Pop Sugar. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  17. ^ Dunlea, Reed; Smith, Jamil (January 13, 2021). "'My Experience Is My Expertise': Deja Foxx on Being a Presidential Campaign Staffer at 19, Influencers, and Sexuality in Politics". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  18. ^ Anderson, John (October 20, 2022). "'TikTok, Boom' Review: Video Interference". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  19. ^ Artz, Jaxx (June 14, 2023). "This Activist & Founder Is Using Social Media to Champion Reproductive and Sexual Rights". Global Citizen. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  20. ^ Moore, Elena (August 20, 2024). "Gen Z activist Deja Foxx is the first content creator to speak at the convention". NPR. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  21. ^ LaPointe, Emma (October 14, 2024). "Harris-Walz Reproductive Freedom tour makes first Arizona stop in Tucson". The Daily Wildcat. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  22. ^ @Deja_Foxx (April 2, 2025). "This isn't just politics—it's personal. From long nights at the gas station to becoming the first in my family to graduate college—I know what's at stake because I've lived it. This moment calls for more than a politician. You deserve a fighter. I'm running for #AZ07. #FoxxForAZ" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Janfaza, Rachel (2025-04-03). "She Was a Gen Z Influencer for Kamala Harris. Now She's Running for Congress". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  24. ^ "Babies, brains and breakthroughs: Day 4 of TED2025". Retrieved April 22, 2025.
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