“Ms. Security, We’re Gonna Walk Through Here Like We’re Queens” 

Mayor Anita Ashford’s Incredible Journey as an SC4 Alum, a Prestigious Career at DTE, and VIP Private Security for the NAACP.

Mayor Anita Ashford’s journey took off when a stranger knocked on her mother’s front door. Anita was in middle school at the time, and stood by the door, waiting for her mother to respond. The stranger introduced himself as a representative of Port Huron Catholic School and offered Anita a spot at the school. When her mother said she couldn’t afford the tuition, the man clarified that she wouldn’t pay a penny, but that a wealthy individual wanted to sponsor Anita, and he wished to remain anonymous. 

Anita loved her time at Port Huron Catholic, and her Christian faith became a major part of her life. When we asked her why she wanted to run for mayor, she responded, “G-O-D,” and explained that she felt a call on her life to pursue the office, although it was never her plan.  

After graduating from high school, Anita began the hard work of earning her degree. She was a single mother to two children and was working four different jobs to support her family and pay her tuition.  

“It was heavy lifting for me…but here I was at SC4, and they embraced me like I was their child. “

Despite her already full schedule, Anita was a cheerleader for the SC4 Men’s basketball team and a writer for the Erie Street Gazette. In order to attend classes, she received permission from the administration to have her two children with her in the classroom, with the caveat that they did not disturb the learning process. Anita would bring plenty of candy, crayons and coloring books to keep them occupied and fondly remembers one class where she turned around to see her kids drawing a goofy picture of the instructor while he was teaching. Whether it was for sports or for academics, her children were cheering her on from the sidelines.  Anita says that instructors and staff were instrumental to her success as a student. “I was never judged. I was trying to get an education, and they wanted to make sure I was successful.” 

After earning an associate’s degree in criminal justice, she was hired at Detroit Edison (now DTE), where she had a long and distinguished career.   

“I was at DTE for forty-four years with eleven different careers, all the way from the gatehouse up to the top floor working for the president of the company.” 

While at DTE, she continued her education at Concordia University, earning a bachelor’s in human resources administration. She held many titles, including DTE Safety Director, Security Officer, Diversity and Discrimination Trainer, and Process Manager, which was her most recent position when she retired.

“The significance of SC4 is that it catapulted me into those areas. It laid a sure foundation.”  

Anita’s story expands beyond her work with DTE. She first began as a volunteer for the NAACP, serving as secretary on the city of Port Huron’s first youth council. However, when she joined the team at a NAACP convention in Denver, her life changed drastically.  

She was in the hotel lobby when she heard a group of out-of-control kids and people in suits trying to calm them down. According to Anita, she saw the issue and couldn’t just sit around, so she walked into the room, pulled up a chair, used it to step onto a table and said, “Quiet down! We have to have some order in here.” 

You could hear a pin drop in that room. She then turned to the leaders and told them to tell the children what they were trying to say. The NAACP leadership was so impressed with her that they hired her to work security. She continued at DTE, but during her two weeks of vacation each year, she worked as a private security guard for the NAACP and was given the codename “Ice.” 

She started as hotel youth security, but moved to VIP security, and her assignments included protecting influential voices such as Maya Angelou, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, and President Clinton.  

Anita shared many highlights about working VIP security for the NAACP. One of her more daunting tasks was guarding President Clinton.  

“What really made me nervous was when the president would come…you couldn’t move when that car came around, and it finally parked in front of you. My heart would flutter when I would see the flag coming with the president.”  

She explained that they would assign the same people to work security for VIPs, to help them feel more comfortable. President Clinton was very kind to his team and would hug Anita whenever they got him to where he was going. But Anita always had to be on the job, with her heels put together and standing straight at attention, even when getting a hug from the president. “I almost fell over every time.” 

Another time, Anita was working security for Maya Angelou at an event of over ten thousand people. When the event ended, Anita was getting ready to take her out the back entrance. Ms. Angelou stopped her and said, “Honey, I want to go right through the crowd.” So Anita radioed her team, and they walked her through the sea of people, which made Anita tense. Anita shared, 

“As I was taking her through, all of a sudden she pulled on my arm, and she said ‘Ms. Security, this is really good, and you look so good, but you know what, slow down. We’re gonna walk through here like we’re queens.”  

Another day, Anita got a call from her daughter’s teacher, telling her that her daughter had been lying in class. When Anita asked what her daughter was saying, the teacher said that she was making up crazy stories about how her mamma knows Michael Jackson. Anita laughed.  

What was most impactful was Anita’s time with Rosa Parks.  

“She was just so special to me, and no matter who it was, President Clinton, Michael Jackson—she tops my list.” 

She shared about one night when they were eating dinner at a restaurant… 

“I don’t know why this stuck with me, but she wrapped  [her last bits of cheese] up in a napkin and put them in her purse.  I thought to myself, shoot, the kitchen would have given her a whole thing of cheese…but she is a product of her upbringing, and she didn’t waste anything.”

In 2021, Anita Retired from DTE. With twenty years of experience in city government, including as a city council member, she decided to run for office. It was largely due to her faith and support from her Christian community that influenced her decision. Mayor Ashford has led an incredible life and career, protected major movers in history, and continues to make history as the first Black Mayor of Port Huron.