Mickens

By Jacob Ogles

The College Democrats chapter at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) has chartered and dissolved repeatedly, but Jovan Mickens couldn’t stand for the group staying dormant. He worked with peers at the university last fall to resuscitate the organization anew.

“With us being just a couple blocks away from the Florida Capitol, I think it’s important to teach students and the FAMU community the works of civic engagement,” he said.

He led the organization into the 2022 election cycle, which involved voter registration drives, organizing panels and doing everything possible to raise awareness that the College Democrats would not abandon the state’s most prominent historically Black university. The group has since grown from a small group to 30 active members, then 50, and it’s continuing to grow.

The organization adopted a street and started conducting workshops. In a short time, the organization has won face time with some prominent political leaders. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the group during a visit to Tallahassee. Before his election to Congress, Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost made a trip to the Capital City to speak to members about community organizing.

Mickens, a political science major earning a minor in public administration, plans to pursue a career in public service. That could include running for office someday, but he’s already started political work, includ- ing volunteering for Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani’s campaign in 2020. He later interned in Eskamani’s legislative office, where he made an impression with the lawmaker.

“His skills in constituent services sharpened, as our office responded to economic struggles across the state,” Eskamani said.

For Mickens, the experience taught him about the good lawmakers can achieve even serving in the minority. He helped constituents deal with problems with EBT credits and to secure assistance to make housing payments.

“Democrats have not had a majority in the House, Senate or any part of government but we were able to do little things,” he said. Mickens plans to utilize the three E’s of public service — education, empowerment and engagement — to further rise in political stature and to continue helping as many people as he can through The Process.