This is the second of a two-part series.
Patricia Ashanti traces her passion for service back to Calico Bottoms, the small rural community she grew up in. Nestled in the Delta, it is characterized by expansive cotton fields and a close-knit community atmosphere. She said she was influenced in particular by her experience at Pleasant Joy Missionary Baptist Church, where she participated in the choir. She recalls that the church’s location on a small dirt road discouraged some members from attending.
“Not everyone wanted to drive their cars down that dusty road to get to the church, especially when it wasn’t regular church time,” she said. “But there were three women, including the youth and choir directors, who were always there. No matter if they had to come pick us up from our house, no matter whether they had to work odd hours, they were at the church. They showed me — through sacrificing their time for others — what community service is.”
Ashanti’s three mentors — who did not have children of their own — were committed to helping others grow a little every day.
“Seeing how they worked has stuck with me over the years,” she said. “They taught me that going to great lengths to help others isn’t ‘overdoing’ it. It’s just what we do in this community. Giving up your time to help others grow is our calling.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Ashanti said the land the historical church sat on was actually donated to the community by her family.
“This place is very comforting to me, because when I’m there, I think about my ancestors and their efforts to build the community,” she said. “I think about the work it took to clear the land – the type of collaboration, leadership and vision it took. I reflect on the fact that I am a descendant of these people, and I remember that collaboration is key in getting anything important done.”
In her free time, Ashanti likes to occasionally watch science fiction films on Netflix. But, to be completely honest, she mostly likes to spend time on her laptop thinking about the possibilities that lie ahead for Delta Circles.
“My happy place is peace and quiet, being in a place where I can think and dream,” she said. “When I asked my daughter if she wanted to come with me on a recent trip to Nashville, she said, ‘Mom, I know you won’t want to go out and have fun.’ I suppose she’s sort of right because fun for me is spending some time in my hotel room getting work done, knocking things off our to-do list.”
As she thinks back on her history of community service, Ashanti recalls the moment that she realized her dream of helping others was coming true.
“My desire for years had been to make a difference, and for years I held on to the faith that if I kept doing the work, I would come in contact with women that needed that work,” she said. “One day, when I went to teach another class that was full of women ready to learn, I realized the successes we were achieving. All the participants were there because our organization kept moving forward, putting in the work. This moment helped me dive even deeper into using philanthropy to help individuals and families prosper.”
She said that she increasingly sees the value of storytelling and relating what one does in the present to their past. She thinks back to cotton fields of Calico Bottoms, where she was born, and reflects on poverty that her family was living in — something she occasionally forgets.
When she was three months old, Ashanti was rescued from a house fire due to faulty wiring.
“The things that were happening with my mom working in the fields, my young siblings caring for me home alone, the electrical wiring that caused the fire — these are all evidence of poverty,” she said. “Of course, my parents didn’t call it poverty. These were just facts of life.”
Her mission to help others out of poverty is strongly rooted in this trying past.
“Attempting to eradicate poverty is serious — it’s something that goes deep,” she said. “And so, I have to take it seriously. I have to move very strongly as I do things to help elevate people of my community.”