Local NAACP vice president’s dedication comes from family history
From her time as vice president of the Oxford NAACP chapter to her work as a pastor, Vanessa Cummings has dedicated herself to giving back to others.
NAACP Vice President Vanessa Cummings is an Oxford native with a lifelong drive to serve her community.
Cummings said her love for the community stemmed from her upbringing. Both her parents were members of the NAACP, and her father was a pastor.
“We were just always taught to stand up for what we believed in and to speak up for what we knew to be right,” Cummings said. “I always had a heart to help people and encourage people and empower people.”
After graduating from Talawanda High School in 1980, Cummings continued her education at the University of Alabama (UA). While in college, she took on an active role in its student government, the Afro-American Association and the Afro-American Gospel Choir.
She also participated in a civil rights march while there. She said she remembers being overwhelmed with indescribable feelings that day.
“It was like being in the Civil Rights Movement,” Cummings said. “I felt that movement. I felt that power.”
Cummings graduated from UA in 1984 with her bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in public relations. Shortly after graduating, she started working for the Tuscaloosa Police Department (TPD) in communications. She was also a 911 operator and dispatcher for TPD and fire and rescue dispatcher for Tuscaloosa County.
Cummings moved back home to Butler County in 1993 and started working as a case manager for Butler County Children’s Services. This is also when she started going to the NAACP meetings with her father.
A year later, she was offered a position at the Miami University Police Department as a parking enforcement officer. In that same year, Cummings became president of the NAACP and continued to serve as president until 2000, then became vice president.
“Busy people get things done,” Cummings said. “I’ve been active in the community. It’s my life’s passion, my life story.”
Cummings herself has certainly stayed busy, from her involvement with the NAACP to a second career in ministry, a political campaign and a stint on Oxford City Council from 1994 until 2000.
In 2004, Cummings followed in her father's footsteps and became a pastor after graduating from Payne Theological Seminary with her master’s in divinity. Currently, she is a pastor for Payne Chapel AME Church in Hamilton. Cummings said being a pastor was never really part of her plan.
“I realized it is my calling to serve in ministry, and it's beyond the church walls,” Cummings said. “You know, it’s not just about going in and preaching on Sunday and going on to the next week, it's about what you're doing to serve the people in the community.”
Last year, Cummings, who has been an active member of the Butler County Democratic Party for many years, ran for Ohio State House Representative in the 47th district. Cummings lost that race but said in moments of adversity she is always looking for a new lesson to learn.
“Every experience has taught me something else and allowed me to learn and made me stronger,” Cummings said.
After more than three decades of public service, Cummings is just as active in her community as she ever was. She continues to live by the virtues that her parents instilled in her and plans to remain a strong leader in Oxford’s Black community.
