Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Robbins.
Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in public housing projects in a small town about an hour south of Raleigh called Sanford with my mother and my younger sister. At one point, my mother was a nurse and injured her back working with patients. That injury was further exacerbated by a terrible car wreck which prompted her addiction to pain medication. The pain and addiction led her to obtain prescription opioids by fraud, which often involved me going into pharmacies and getting prescriptions in alternative names for her as a pre-teen. This was long before our government and public health officials started to at least pretend to care about the addictive nature of opioids and the pressure on physicians to prescribe them by big pharma. My mother spent several stints in jail and prison as a result of obtaining prescriptions by fraud. My sister and I lived with my godmother during her incarceration.
Upon my mother’s release from prison when I was 15, we moved to Raleigh. During my junior year in high school, addiction again led my mother to prison. I went from a short-term foster home, to a group home, and stayed with friends. Soon after I was on my own, living with friends, working and paying rent while maintaining good enough grades to be inducted into the National Honor Society at Broughton High School. My teachers and guidance counselor at Broughton were very supportive of me. They set up a trust in my name to help me obtain furnish my first rental home and helped me purchase my first car for $1. I was accepted to NC State University in 2001, graduating in 2006 with a B.A in Communications (media concentration) and a B.A in Africana Studies.
In 2010, I started an artist management, promotions, and marketing company called Eargasm Entertainment, LLC, managing local artists such as SkyBlew, Ease, and Cyrano Sinatra. From 2010-2014 I ran an extremely popular weekly hip-hop event across from NC State called Sucker-Free Sundays at Shakedown Street. The venue was a small bar owned by a Grateful Dead head named Uncle John. DJ Flash (Little Brother’s DJ) was the consistent DJ, with other local DJs such as DJ Paradime, Skaz Digga, Spcl Guest, Sami Automatic, and others often filling in. Artists from all up and down the East Coast would come perform at this little hole in the wall spot.
I would say I was radicalized in 2012 with the murder of Trayvon Martin. That is when I got active in protests, joining those rallying around the notion that Black Lives Matter. In 2014 I went to Ferguson as part of the Freedom Rides to mobilize organizers, activists, and artists around the murder of Michael Brown. We were tasked with taking the information we learned from that experience back to our communities to enact change.
I moved to Durham in 2015 and have been very active as a community activist and organizer since then. I have served on several boards and including the Citizens Advisory Committee, Engage Durham engagement ambassador, Community Leaders Pilot Program, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association steering committee, participatory budget delegate and many others. I am a restorative justice facilitator, Feed Durham volunteer, QPR suicide prevention trainer, a local power lead with North Carolina Black Leadership and Organizing Collective, and I manage a community fridge in Braggtown, a historically Black neighborhood that is located in a food desert. We source local produce from Merrick Moore community garden and keep the fridge stocked with fresh items the community can have for free, no questions asked. Managing this fridge and building relationships with the residents who utilize it, as well as those who frequent the store, is the work I am most proud of.
In July 2025, I decided to run for Durham City Council Ward 2 on an anti-capitalist platform. I refused all campaign donations and did not court major PAC endorsements. I ran to educate myself about the process for running for local office and share that information out with the community. I wanted to highlight how inaccessible local government is, both as a candidate and a resident. It is not meant for people who work full-time jobs which is why many folks in these positions are independently wealthy, are clergy, or are business owners. It is not meant for people with disabilities as the documents are not accessible, as are most of the forums. I ran to highlight how many of our social problems around housing, poverty, gun violence, etc. can be attributed to capitalism and a system that prioritizes profits over people. I knew that the odds were stacked against me to win but I always had a goal that was much bigger than a single election- I wanted to organize poor and working-class residents in Durham and funnel folks into organizations and mutual aid networks. While I did not proceed past the primary, I still secured 11.25% of the votes based solely on grassroots efforts- not money. I incorporated much of my background in communications, Africana Studies, and hip-hop management to run my campaign using music from “conscious” hip-hop artists such as Tupac Shakur and Dead Prez.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. As Langston Hughes said in the poem “Mother to Son,” “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Growing up in public housing, living in poverty, my mother’s addiction, the incarceration of BOTH of my parents, the continued absence of my father, losing a sibling that lived in my city that I never even met, and being forced to take on adult adult responsibilities from the age of 15 were all serious bumps and roadblocks along my journey.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a community organizer known for speaking truth to power. I volunteer with Feed Durham and am most proud of managing the Braggtown community fridge and promoting mutual aid strategies to make sure my community is feed, clothed, and protected during these uncertain times. There are people who utlize the fridge that might struggle to access fresh food otherwise. I have developed camaraderie with residents who are at the store where the fridge is housed. My current goal is to find a used fridge for one of the residents in that area, Mr. Noah Powell. Mr. Powell is a renowned jazz musician who is on disability and cannot afford a new fridge. I am looking for someone to donate a used fridge they do not need or raise funds to purchase one. What sets me apart from others is the fact that I am consistent and my words and actions align. I take risks that could cost me my livelihood (and perhaps even my life) to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done, particularly as it relates to corruption in our local government.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was always very smart, yet very shy and insecure because of my weight. I loved to read and write. I always excelled in school so my teachers generally adored me. I played sports- primarily basketball, volleyball, and softball. I was the best at softball, playing on the county All-Star team, but loved basketball the most. Summer has always been my favorite season with beach trips and fishing excursions always being the highlight. Though I do not sing or play an instrument, music has always been a pivotal part of my life, bringing me solace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thebullcityvanguard.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebullcityvanguard
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebullcityvanguard
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/bullcityvg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBullCityVanguard
