FEATURE
Amber Posey, Christopher Smikes Jr., Raven Mallory, Kristiana Smikes, Alyhdia Ann and Tasha Ellis.
THE ACE FOUNDATION REACHES OUT LIKE ASHANTI POSEY DID BY HANNAH HERNER Ashanti Posey was the type of teen who called her grandparents weekly, who worked two jobs to fund her own senior trip to Paris, who started a support group to help fellow LGBTQ teens come out to their parents. Ashanti Posey was murdered in her car in April, shortly after she had sold some marijuana. Ashanti’s mother, Amber Posey hopes to bring to light more of the former. “It’s just trying to clear up that one statement with 17 years of good things that she’s done. And it’s hard,” Amber says. Her family and basketball teammates are continuing the good deeds Ashanti was known to do through The Ace Foundation. In late December, a group handed out coats and other necessities to those living in an encampment under Jefferson Street Bridge. They had visited before and made a list of needed items, and Amber put a call out on Facebook for supplies. People who had known Ashanti personally or had followed her basketball career (she was set to play at Western Kentucky University in
the fall) from as far away as Chicago sent packages. Amber learned of her daughter’s heart for service from a principal after her death. Ashanti had her own car, and Amber assumed she was hanging with friends or getting a bite to eat while she was out. It turns out that sometimes she was rounding up food or clothing for those in need near her school, Hillsboro High School. “I knew that she left my home at a certain time every day, but I just thought, she’s being a kid… I had no idea,” Amber says. “It warms your heart to know that your child was doing these things.” In the future, Amber hopes The Ace Foundation can do more good in the community. She’s thought about basketball tournaments, or a bike show to honor Ashanti’s love of motorcycles and dirt bikes — activities for kids to take part in. “There’s really not a lot for the kids to do in the community anymore,” Amber says. “Either the parents can’t afford it or it’s being taken away because new apartment buildings are going up, or new businesses are going up. What are kids
left to do but to find something to do and sometimes it’s not always good.” When they do work for the ACE foundation, Ashanti’s friends and family wear shirts with her picture on them. Amber loves when people ask about Ashanti. “To talk about her story, it’s therapeutic,” she says. Many of those experiencing homelessness know what it’s like to experience tragedy too, Amber added. Thinking of the way that people who live in the encampment work together, she asks, “why can’t we do the same?” “Why can’t we just come together and get along? Stop all this senseless gun violence in Nashville, it’s ridiculous.” Amber says it’s really Ashanti’s old teammates and friends that push The Ace Foundation forward. She’s just the adult to sign off on things when needed. “If a 17 year old child can do it by herself, what can us adults do if we all work together?”
Those wishing to get involved should email longliveace30@gmail.com
January 6-20, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11
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