Don’t be deceived by Ashley Canady’s petite frame. The
President of the McDougald Terrace Resident Council carries a big punch.
She’s willing to fight on behalf of the residents in her
community. Canady went into the ring when hundreds of tenants were evacuated after carbon monoxide was discovered leaking throughout the public housing complex.
She rallied Durham citizens to support her neighbors when they needed food and
supplies due to spending more than three months cramped in hotel rooms.
Canady is a champion prize fighter who uses her words and reputation
to impact change. She bawled with relentless fury after over one hundred rounds
of assault weapon ammunition was found scattered throughout her neighborhood.
Three men and a woman were shot on that night. Canady was
returning from a store when the shooting happened. She told a reporter with
WRAL the shots kept coming. Canady grabbed her son, stripped him down, fearing
he’d been shot. That’s when she heard the police call her name.
"What really broke my heart was how many times I
called 911 and nobody picked up," Canady told WRAL after the shooting.
"I called six times and on the sixth try, I finally got somebody to pick
up. It was just the worst thing when you have so many victims around you and
the community is in chaos, and then just to see all the bullets out here ...
something has to be done."
Canady says one of the officers who showed up that
night was still on sight the next day.
“There were only 24 police on call that night,”
Canady said.
Canady says difficulties in reaching 911, combined
with concerns regarding police funding, factor into resident’s supporting Elaine O’Neal for mayor and DeDreanna Freeman and Mark-Anthony Middleton for
city council.
Her neighbors have been traumatized by the sight and
sound of gun violence. On Saturday, within walking distance from her backyard,
two men were shot and killed in the parking deck on the campus of North
Carolina Central University.
It happened while more than 5,600 people attended a
football game. The O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium and surrounding roads were placed on
lockdown as police looked for the shooter or shooters.
“Thanks to the well-trained, quick acting NCCU Police
Department, no members of the NCCU community or its’ guest were impacted by
this tragedy,” the NCCU administration stated in a press release. “The
Department immediately put their skills to work in bravely guarding the
well-being of NCCU students, faculty, staff and guest.”
It’s hard not to think about the guest who live across
the street.
Last week, Canady used her social media platform to bring
attention to students being bypassed by bus drivers. Her impassioned appeal got
the attention of Alexandra Valladares, a former resident at McDougald Terrance
and member of the Durham Public School Board.
It helps having close friends in high places.
It helps even more to have advocates like Ashley
Canady to bring attention when things fall through the cracks.
If we scream loudly, maybe we can convince her to run
for office to replace a person she says lacks real love for her people.
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