Dedicated to Serve

I grew up surrounded by people who loved their community and dedicated their lives to make things better. That was when it took a village to raise a child. A time when a neighbor knew their neighbors and a neighbor could correct a child and the parents would say "thank you". It was a time when teachers bought less fortunate students' clothes and pulled together to send them off to college. I was trained to serve during a time when there was a great divide between the northside and the southside, and the southside pulled together, stood together, fought together, and won together. Those lessons that I learned of loyalty, passion for a cause, sacrifice for the common good, and vision for a better future have served me well in this present day. My mother taught me that if you believe in a cause, do it with all your might, whether anyone else believes with you. Her philosophy was that once you put your hand on the plow, do not stop until the job is done. From her, I learned perseverance. My dad taught me not to take obstacles, and no's as the end of the sentence. He taught persistence and intelligent resistance. That was what it took when he was kicked off the voting ballots but stood his ground, founded the Guiding Light, testified in court, and helped win voting rights for the disenfranchised Black citizens in Ouachita Parish. My granddaddy, Dr. R.O. Pierce, a local Pharmacist, taught me the value of economic buy-in and industrious leverage. In order to prove the viability of having a Colored Chamber of Commerce, he pushed the project of creating the first Colored library in the parish. He wrote to others to explain the project and garnered support from both communities. My aunt, Arnetta Amin, the first woman pharmacist in the area (Black or White), taught me to think outside the box. In her quirky way, she exposed me to higher levels of thinking by always analyzing everything. She was a civil servant who fought hard for civil rights alongside my dad, Lawyer Sharp, and Pastor Scott. So many others touched my life in so many ways, but these were my immediate family. It was with this mindset that I sought office so many years ago, and it was not until my mother's illness that I made the decision to step down to take care of her. I thought she would live to be 100, but she transitioned on January 9, 2023. After much serious thought, I have decided that it is time to pick back up my mantle and serve my constituents again. I have been taught well and am again ready and dedicated to serve. Dr. Ollibeth Reddix Ouachita Parish Police Jury District D.