From Exclusion to Youth Leadership: Organizing for Racial Justice with Demarco Mott Artwork

Community In-Site

Community In-site is about the family well-being movement. Hosts Tecoria Jones and Elliott Hinkle bring their lived expertise with the child welfare system as well as their professional insights to each episode. We'll be talking to leaders, advocates, and community members who are working from the grassroots to the grasstops on strategies to invest in the well-being of families and communities in order to prevent child welfare involvement. The show will feature stories and lessons from community sites (featuring Thriving Families, Safer Children sites) that make the family well-being movement real and personal. Each episode will unpack a specific topic (e.g. racial equity or community partnerships) and what can be learned from the challenges and successes. The hosts hope to leave listeners with something they can take into their own work to help grow the movement in their community.

For more information about the family well-being movement and Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative you can visit, Thriving Families

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Community In-Site

From Exclusion to Youth Leadership: Organizing for Racial Justice with Demarco Mott

October 30, 2025 • Imagination Factory & 14th Street Studios • Season 2 • Episode 21

In this episode, host Valerie Frost speaks with Demarco Mott, a passionate youth leader and advocate from Miami who has spent years fighting racial disparities in child welfare and school systems. Demarco is the Chair of the Citrus Family Care Network Youth Advisory Council. His leadership journey began with his own experiences of exclusion and othering, moments that fueled his commitment to build spaces where youth voices are not only heard but drive change.

Demarco shares stories from organizing youth councils, navigating resistance from agencies and schools, and partnering with supportive adults who stand with youth unconditionally. He discusses the critical shift Miami has made by moving away from traditional language to directly confronting child welfare disparities and how youth leadership is reshaping local systems and policies.

Listeners will hear about the real impact of youth-led advocacy, the importance of community-rooted strategies, and the lessons Demarco has learned about resilience, inclusion, and collective power. This episode highlights how youth voice matters not just as a buzzword but as a catalyst for equity and justice.

Check Out Past Community In-Site Episodes!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are some additional resources Demarco would like to share with you.

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com