Education
Morehouse College, BA Mass Communications
Community Involvement
Vice Chairman Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation
Parent Chair Mt. Hebron School Action Team
Montclair Board of Education
Montclair Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee
Montclair Neighborhood Development Center Policy Committee
Montclair Civil Rights Commission
David Cummings is a lifelong resident of Montclair who holds the community dear to his heart. His family has been in Montclair since the 1920s. He has had a family member graduate from Montclair High School every decade since the 1940s.
A 1985 graduate of Montclair High School, he was a three-year varsity letterman in basketball and was named First-team All-Essex County and Third-team All-State in football. After graduating from MHS, Cummings attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., where graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications. It was at Morehouse that Cummings political activism started. His freshman year the Rev. Jessie Jackson led a voter registration drive of the entire freshman class of students from Morehouse, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown, the consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities known as the Atlanta University Center. Over 2,500 students registered to vote that day. Cummings is proud the first vote he ever cast was for Senator John Lewis, the Civil Rights icon who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King.
As a sophomore at Morehouse Cummings worked part-time with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the non-violent civil rights group started by Dr. King. Following his matriculation at Morehouse, Cummings spent 30 years a sportswriter working at the Lexington (N.C.) Dispatch, Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, New York Times, New York Daily News, Miami Herald, The Source Magazine, and ESPN The Magazine. He has covered numerous major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, NCAA Final Four, Boxing Championship Fights, and the World Series. One of the highlights of his career was riding in the truck that led the New York Yankees 1996 World Series parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
Cummings attributed his childhood in Montclair and attending the Montclair Public School system as a strong foundation for his professional career. He credits his parents, Morris and Carole (deceased) Cummings, along with his siblings, Tracy Hines, Pam Hines, Chucky Hines and Reacey Hines (deceased) for his passion for giving back and making sure he actively participated in the community where he lived. Cummings record of volunteer service in Montclair includes serving as Vice Chairman of the Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation, the oldest social service agency in Montclair, Member of the Montclair Public School District Board of Education, Montclair Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, Montclair Neighborhood Development Center Policy Committee, and the Montclair Civil Rights Commission.
Cummings is proud to represent the Fourth Ward, which he calls the crown jewel and the most diverse section of Montclair. He was born on Mission Street before his family moved to Orange Road. Glenfield Park and Nishuane Park were his second home and where he made lifelong friends.
He is married to Kimberly. They have three children, including two graduates of Montclair High School; David Jr., a senior Animation Major at Savannah College of Art and Design, Elizabeth a junior Education Major at Towson University, and Katherine a senior at Montclair High School.
He’s currently Principal of DEK Strategies, LLC, a boutique consulting agency specializing in Digital Media and Content Communications Strategy. His client lists include the NFL, the Fritz Pollard Alliance, the Township of Hillside N.J., and Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation.