WEBVTT - Deep Roots and Representation for BIPOC in Gardening 0:00:01.360 --> 0:00:04.520 I was thinking this week about American Gothic. You know 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:09.000 American Gothic, right, It's that Grantwood painting of farming couple 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:12.440 standing side by side, and it's what everyone thinks of 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.640 when we picture American farmers. It's a banding that gave 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.800 hope to people during the Great Depression, and because the 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:23.400 farmers are stern and virtuous and very Midwestern, it's been 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.920 held up as this romanticized vision of what growing is. 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:29.960 But it's funny what you see when you look a 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:34.880 little closer. Grant Wood wasn't much of a farmer. He 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.760 used to walk around town in overalls, but according to 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:41.880 his biography, he was grossed out by utters and fresh eggs. 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.040 The man of that painting, he isn't a farmer either. 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.440 It was Woods dentist who dressed up to play the part. 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.480 And while America loved the artwork is something that embodied 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.920 quote real farming, Iowan's pointed out that Grantwood couldn't even 0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:00.680 get the pitchfork right. It only had three times instead 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:05.800 of four. I guess the reason I'm telling you all 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:08.360 this is because we all have this image of what 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:12.000 an American farmer is. But I'm not sure, that's right. 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:15.960 As I've talked with more and more people, I'm amazed 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:19.559 by how many different cultures have contributed to the growing 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:23.000 practices that we kind of just accept as American today. 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:28.640 Hey there, I'm Mongay Articular, a co host of Part 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.480 Time Genius, one of the co founders of Mental Flaws, 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:35.640 and this is Humans Growing Stuff, a collaboration from I 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:39.040 Heart Media and your friends at Miracle Grow. My goal 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.800 is to make this the most human show about plants 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.320 you'll ever listen to, and along the way, we'll share sweet, 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:49.800 inspiring stories, tips and tricks to nurture your plant addiction, 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:52.800 and just enough science to make you sound like an expert. 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:58.520 In today's episode, we're going to celebrate the diversity of growing, 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:02.800 the histories and realizations that have shaped today's culture of gardening, 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:07.000 and the underrepresentative communities that have deep roots in our soil. 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:11.519 Because it turns out growing is just as multicultural as 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:19.640 our country. Chapter five, Giving Thanks and Giving Shine. So 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.399 I am a huge fan of life hacks, and one 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:25.919 of the things I read is that if you're having 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:30.520 trouble keeping your plants alive September through October and maybe 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:34.960 even into November, you can play some rocks nearby. The 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.440 rocks will soak up the sunlight during the day and 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:41.720 continue to hold that heat overnight. It keeps the soil 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:46.120 warmer and protects the plants nearby from frost. It is brilliant, 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:52.160 but it's also old wisdom. According to Yes Magazine, various 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:56.320 American Indian tribes, including the Iroquois, used the practice as 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.720 a way to keep early frost at bay. But what 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.360 other ancient farming practices have we overlooked? I wanted to 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.560 hear more, so I called up our pal, Naima Pennyman. 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:11.480 She's the program director at soul Fire Farms. So Far 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:16.880 prides itself on using Afro Indigenous technical and spiritual farming practices, 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.720 and the farm has used those practices to regenerate eighty 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:25.800 acres of land. As program director, Naima coordinates farming immersions 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:29.320 and workshops for the local community. So I wanted to 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.160 ask her about the histories of growing and who we 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.640 should actually be thanking for so many of the techniques 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:42.920 we use today. Hi, Naima, thanks for joining me. I'm 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:44.760 so excited to be chatting with you because I want 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.720 to talk about soul Fire Farm and ask a sister 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.520 Gardner and the wisdom of ancestors. But before we do 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:53.480 any of that, would you want telling me a little 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:56.240 bit about how you got into farming. I've always been 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:00.800 deeply inspired by the natural world, but the place I 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.440 always fought the most at home was amongst the plants 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:09.720 and trees and waterways of western Massachusetts. My sister and 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:13.400 I from a young age would forage edible things from 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:15.840 the forest that we could eat and grow some food 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.080 in the garden behind our house, and that to me 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:22.719 always gave such a sense of connection, power and purpose. 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:26.520 Who taught you to to forage in these fests? You know, 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:30.880 we have some naturalist books and things we would refer to, 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:35.440 but some of it was our own instuition and exploration. 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:39.960 Like I remember finding this sapling that when we peeled 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:43.280 it's barked back, you know, smelled of cinnamon, and you know, 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.640 we would know how to identify that tree, and we 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:49.839 were the harvest would sorrel. And I don't remember how 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:52.240 we learned that was edible, but hopefully we verified it 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:56.120 before we tried it, but we a I love that 0:04:56.240 --> 0:05:00.320 it's on so like fun and adventurous and romantic. So 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:03.000 tell me a little about so Far and how how 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.880 it came to be. So so Far is of Afro 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:10.320 Indigenous community farm and where training farm dedicated to uprooting 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.479 racism in the food system and also steating sovereignty in 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:17.440 our communities, creating more opportunities for engagement on every level 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:21.120 of the food system, from growing food to consuming food. 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:26.720 In our lineages, there's so much trauma of land based oppression, 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:30.800 having land stolen from us or um being stolen from 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:34.720 land and our ancestry, and that our food system is 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:38.640 really built on this legacy of stolen land and stolen 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.719 labor that hasn't been repaired. Those who grow our food 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:45.040 continue to be extremely devalued. We're trying to change that story. 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:47.760 So a big part of our work is also about 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:50.960 training in African and Indigenous heritage ways of growing food, 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.560 inspiring the next generation of farmers and food sovereignty activists, 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.640 and also helping to build a movement on regional and 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.800 national levels. You know, I'd watched a few of these 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.719 videos and my producer Molly pointed out this reference of 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:07.920 braiding seeds into one's hair. Yes, it's such a powerful story. 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:13.080 So homage and deep reverence to our grandma's grandma's grandma 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:17.160 Enthusie Boyd, who was one of many people in the 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:22.160 Dahomy region of West Africa during the horrific Transatlantic slave trade, 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:26.920 who had the courage in the face of this perilous 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:31.000 and uncertain journey of the Middle Passage to think of 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.839 what would be social security for the uncertain future. And 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:40.240 she and others braided seeds into each other's hair before 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:45.960 boarding those ships to the America's where they face bondage 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:48.920 in the face of not knowing what would happen, trusting 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:51.760 that they would be land on the other side and 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:56.640 that this would be social security for the descendants. You know, 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:59.520 so many of the seeds that are indigenous to the 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:04.239 continent of Africa, black rice, coffee, cola, nut, okra, black 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:08.920 app peace, sesame, eggplant, many melons, and more were seeds 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:13.480 that came with our ancestors on those ships. And not 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:16.680 only did they pass on that seed, but also the 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.640 knowledge of the indigenous ways of knowing land and how 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.000 to grow food and right relationship with the land. You 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.720 know that that's such a such a powerful and incredible 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:28.400 story and facing what these people were facing to to 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.160 have that sort of foresight is is just remarkable. You know, 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.600 I'm curious in what you're saying. Is there a growing 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.120 practice that you know, some people who are listening might 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.800 be surprised. Originated in these Afro indigenous cultures, and in 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:45.400 this history, the Obambo people of northern Namibia and southern 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:51.280 Angola have incredible soil fertility practices by mounding and creating 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:55.840 raised beds. Shout out to Cleopatra, who, during her reign 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.480 in ancient Egypt really understood the power of the earth 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:03.960 worms create the most rich fertile soil and had cadres 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:06.880 of priests who are dedicated to studying the habits of 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.480 the earthworms. She literally had a rule that you could 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:12.480 be put to death for harming an earthworm because she 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:16.160 understood not I did not expect Cleopatra to get a 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:23.120 shout out on the show. Um and so many more 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:26.920 also rememberers who have many who are remembering these ancestral 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:31.560 ways and helping to proliferate these teachings in the new world. 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:35.959 Right so here at soul Fire, the land we are 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:40.360 on was originally steward by the Stockbridge Munci Mohican bands, 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.520 and they were forcibly displaced to a reservation in Wisconsin 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:48.000 in the eighteen hundreds. We have been forming an intentional 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.960 relationship over the last decade. I've been so inspired by 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:57.760 our relationship with a Mohican seedkeeper named Warren, who passed 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:02.679 on to us the sacred black and White munthsly maze 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:06.600 this beautiful corn that we are growing now at soul 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:10.040 Fire to honor that these seeds have come home to 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:14.520 their land. We're planting them in the Mohican style as 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:19.000 he requested, in two foot mounds, with twelve seeds each 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:21.320 beginning at the bottom of the mountain in spiraling up 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:26.600 towards the center and planting them along with winter squash 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:30.440 to provide a carpet over the soil and beans that 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:34.360 grow up the corn to complete the three sisters, the 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:39.400 symbiotic relationship. We are honored to be growing this seed 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.240 native to the land that we're on, and every seed 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.640 that we plant, you know, is really a kernel of 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:49.400 commitment to and the erasure and displacement of our indigenous 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:52.679 relatives who continue to struggle for recognition and basic rights 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:57.640 and dignity. Um, are you discovering new techniques and and 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:00.920 getting excited for new things along the way to absolutely 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:06.800 It's an endless gift, you know, to be in partnership 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.440 with the land, and the land herself is such a teacher. 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.480 I feel like I'm learning every day. So yeah, like 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:17.280 learning new varieties to plant, and we call it companion plants, 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:20.040 like crops that are friends with each other and help 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:22.400 you know, one helps ward off the pest of the other, 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:27.640 So growing chives around the collared bed to help ward 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.520 off the moth that like steak the collards and learning 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:32.720 more about like the friendships between plants and helping us 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:36.480 support that thriving. So I I definitely know from history 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.559 books and stuff all about George Washington Carver, but I've 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:41.839 never really heard the name Booker T. Watley before, and 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:43.360 I was wondering if you could tell us a little 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.839 bit about his contributions to agriculture. So book of s. 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:52.000 Whatley was also a professor at Tuskegee University. And in 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:54.960 a time where black farmers were having a really hard 0:10:55.000 --> 0:11:00.679 time making a living, harshly due to you d a 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:05.959 discrimination like discriminatory lending, BOOKNT Watley had this wild idea. 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.880 People would laugh at him, like, Okay, I feel like 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:13.720 city folks are yearning for the country we could create 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:16.400 an opportunity for them to actually pay us to come 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.520 at harvest. This was the idea of pick your own, 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:21.400 if people will come to the farm and pick their 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:26.320 own pumpkins and apples and cabbage. And again people thought 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.920 this was a city idea, but it caught on. This 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.160 was one of many of BOOKA. T. Watley's ideas of 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:36.280 direct farm to consumer, the idea of having a newsletter 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:38.840 to let your customers know about what's going on in 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.000 the farm, you know, name your animals, and create a 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:45.280 relationship so that people are inspired. Also this idea of 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:50.360 the community supported agriculture program, which he called the clientele 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:52.920 membership club, where people at the beginning of the season 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:56.760 would pay for a share of the harvest so that 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.320 you would be able to have your upfront costs to 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.160 plant your sea ease and have your equipment and schools ready. 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:05.920 Knowing that you had that customer base. Um so that 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:09.040 some of fat Watley's gene yes, that continues to be 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.120 what supports many small diversified farms like ours to be 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:15.920 able to survive. Is there one thing that you'd love 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.800 for our listeners to walk away from this interview knowing 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:23.080 or hearing so all of us who are listening. We 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.240 all eat food every day, right, I feel we all 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:30.920 have a responsibility to help to heal the broken food 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:35.040 system that we've inherited. I want to encourage us to 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:40.120 get engaged. There's so many levels around upholding everyone's right 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.360 to land on, honoring the people who grow our food, 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.679 working to eliminate food apartheid, and support farmers of color. 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:52.240 But I want to urge us all to find our 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:57.120 role and take up responsibility in this movement. This is 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.080 really really lovely. Thank you, Thank you so much for 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:01.000 making the time for this. Thank you so much to 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:08.640 spend such up pleasure. It's talking to you. Naima talked 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:12.400 about ancestors braiding seeds into their hair and bringing crops 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.880 over to America. So here are four plants you might 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:22.040 not have realized came from Africa. Watermelon, the predecessor to 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:26.000 the watermelon, the bitter melon, was grown widely in Egypt 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.840 and was valued for being an easy way to hydrate 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:33.600 yourself in dry climates. According to National Geographic melons were 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:38.439 actually placed in pyramids to quote provide hydration to Pharaohs 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:43.760 for their journeys to the afterlife. Black eyed peas also 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.640 known as cow peas. These plants weren't just an easy 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:50.240 way to get protein. The nutrient rich crop can actually 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:56.040 suppress weeds and help other plants around it grow. Okra 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:59.320 Today it's a Southern staple, but okra made its way 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:03.040 over through West Africa. The plant is actually closely related 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:06.000 to cotton, and one of the reasons American farmers took 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:08.560 such a shine to it is because they knew how 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:13.840 to grow cotton coffee. If you consider coffee's impact on 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.360 the world, from the Beethovens of the world who guzzled 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:19.360 it for inspiration, to college students who use it to 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:23.120 pull all nighters, to the truckers who use that extra 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:26.280 cup to go that extra mile, you realize the world 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:30.880 owes a great debt to Africa, and specifically Ethiopia, where 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:34.040 legend says that a goat herder named Caldy watched his 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.800 goats eat some coffee berries and suddenly get all emped up, 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:43.680 so we decided to turn into a beverage. Of course, 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:46.120 that just scratches the surface, but it's fun to look 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.720 inside your fridge and realize how interconnected this world really is. 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:55.200 Humans growing stuff will be right back After a short 0:14:55.240 --> 0:15:03.200 break after I chat with Naima, I decided to run 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:07.520 a little image search. I typed in America and Farmers, 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:11.000 and then America and Gardeners, and then a bunch of 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:15.160 other variations. It's strange how far I had to scroll 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:18.000 before I found images of people of color. We live 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:21.040 in this great, big country filled with so many different 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:25.160 types of Americans, and yet there's this persistent reminder of 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:30.320 who belongs when the truth is, gardening can and should 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:34.320 be for everybody. So I wanted to talk to Jasmine Jefferson, 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.640 who found the online resource black Girls with Gardens, and 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:41.640 Stephanie Horton, the plant fluencer behind the Instagram account Botanical 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:44.440 black Girl, to talk about their impact on the gardening 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.720 community and to get us all into a conversation about 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:56.600 the culture of gardening. Hey, Stephanie, Hey, Jasmine, you there, Hey, hey, Hi. 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.840 It's so nice to hear your voices. So the first 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:02.560 I'm curious about, how did you fall in love with 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:08.320 gardening and growing? Well, I guess I go first. I've 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:13.440 always been around growing. My grandparents have been growers, but 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:16.520 I just was not interested in it at the time. 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.920 As a child. I can remember vividly. They used to 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.480 travel with like a shovel and bag in their trunk, 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:24.600 so we pulled over we see something and it did. 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.520 They'll just pull it up if they wanted it. So 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.880 that I've always been around it. It's been, it's been 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.880 a thing. It just wasn't until I got Older's when 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.840 I started appreciate growing and I became slightly obsessed with it. 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:40.800 Was that was that embarrassing to you as a kid, 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:45.360 Like it was just kind of normal. I think one 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:48.160 time a friend of mine said something. They were like, 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.280 are they really gonna pull over? I was like, yeah, 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:55.160 other people who was to me? And Stephanie, can you 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.720 tell me a little bit about your plant story? Sure? 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:02.120 And for me it was very recently, Um when I 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:06.359 started falling in love with it. My dad he would always, 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:09.480 you know, at least make an effort to plant tomatoes 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.800 and cucumbers as far as edible gardening. You know, that 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.760 curiosity within me came from my dad's side. His side 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:19.200 being from Mississippi. We would always travel down um to 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.240 the country and I would see them, you know, with 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:26.520 their fruit trees and their own farms and stuff, and 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:28.800 it was just commonplace. And I love that, and I 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:32.000 think that's kind of what started the idea that that 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:34.840 is something that I can tangibly do as an adult. 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:37.520 And then I started learning more about it and actually 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:39.480 going into it and trying to figure out how can 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:43.199 I do that on a smaller scale, you know. But 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.320 I've been looking at Jasmine Ford, I would say the 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.440 last two and a half years, like she's the resources. 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:51.679 I love her. So let's talk about Black Girls with 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:53.600 gardens because I'd love to hear a little bit more 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.560 about how that started. Jasmine. What was it that really 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.600 inspired you to start this website? Was okay, so social 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:03.360 media is a thing. Let me see who I can 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:07.480 connect with in reference to you know, growing. My background 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:11.920 is in psychology, clinical psychology, so I love to research. 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:14.359 I want to know more about things and understand it. 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:16.480 So that was the whole purpose of trying to find 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:19.120 something like that. And there were tons of people out 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:22.520 there growing, especially people of color, but I didn't see 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:24.920 anything where I can just have a holes like a 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:29.920 resource of or a collective by where people like myself 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.000 we can get together and we can talk about plants culturally. 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:37.520 So I decided in July of seventeen that Okay, I'm 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.560 gonna start this thing and we'll just hang out and 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.479 talk about plants. And that's how Blackbirds with Gardens got started. 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.240 It has been just an amazing ride seeing how this 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:50.600 flourished in the past three years. How about you, Stephanie, 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:54.240 how did you end up starting this plant fluencer account? 0:18:55.160 --> 0:19:00.320 And I'm still really weird about that? Do you want 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:02.359 to know what's what's a better term for you? I 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.160 don't know. I'm affecting it now, but it's just so 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:10.200 odd to hear sometimes. But that's not something I ever 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.240 sought out to do, but yeah, to really to kind 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:16.840 of like mirror some of Jasmine's experience. You know, I 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:20.840 started Botanical Black Girl simply because my friends were like 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:24.800 joning on me all the whole time, like, girl, about 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:27.159 your plants? Nobody cares what are you doing? So I 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:31.600 was like, okay, here, you know, I've created some hashtags 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:36.200 to hopefully assist in that, because it would have been 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:38.960 something that I would have appreciated this time last year. 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.080 You know, Yeah, well, well what do you talk about that? Like, 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.040 what are some of the hashtags you've created? And and uh, 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.840 what have you seen in terms of response? Oh, it's lovely? Um, 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:50.800 so I made a couple of hashtags versus botanical black 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:56.040 girl because it's me, but um, I figured that there 0:19:56.040 --> 0:20:00.399 are other botanical black girls out there who would like 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:04.240 to showcase themselves and find communities. So that's one, and the 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.840 the other is black hands green thumb. Now that one 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.560 I actually took some time with because there was a 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:13.800 moment where everybody was either using their hands for comparison, 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:16.960 to size for leaves, or just look at my manicure 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:21.359 with my green rings, and I couldn't find any black folks. 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:23.840 I'm like, okay. And then when I did it, it 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:26.040 really did just kind of shake something and me. It 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.119 stirred something up, and I had no idea what that was. 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:33.120 And it sounds frivolous how affected I could feel when 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:37.000 I saw a black hand doing the things that I 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:40.120 like to do. You know, that really did resonate with 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:42.600 me in a very real way, and I had no 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:44.760 idea what that was, but I was like, hey, we 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:47.640 need to quickly see this because I'm sure somebody else 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:50.439 is going to feel the same way, because representation matters, 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:52.840 you know, you know, doing what I mean it's simple, 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.240 but it's to the point, you know, And that's what 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:57.760 I hope to do is just kind of you know, 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:01.360 flying other folks so we can find one another and 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:06.199 create community. That's the biggest thing. That's it. It's you know, 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:10.119 in this world right now, there's so much toxicity, you 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:14.119 forget that there's like joy and kindness and and just 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.159 the joy of knowledge, you know, on the internet and 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:22.240 to dip into your site and Stephanie's account and these hashtags, 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:25.199 it's just like this really nice reminder of what the 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:28.680 world can be exactly. Judgmine, you mentioned that you are 0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:32.640 a therapist, and do you think that caring for plants 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:36.919 and constantly thinking about plants needs makes people more empathetic? 0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:40.600 I think so it's a practice. It's type of a 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:45.080 method that requires you to care about something else, something 0:21:45.080 --> 0:21:48.680 else that's living. So if you repeat that in which 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:51.240 something we do as we care for clean, you can't 0:21:51.280 --> 0:21:54.080 help but apply that to life. But they'll begin to 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:56.560 apply it to themselves. So they'll begin to apply it 0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:59.239 to their closest family members, brands, and before you know, 0:21:59.560 --> 0:22:02.280 hopefully will have a better world. If everyone get a plan, 0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:05.639 I know, I love I've been thinking about that, like 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:07.800 if we give more plans to people when we have 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:10.880 a kinder world. Um, I think I heard you say 0:22:11.000 --> 0:22:14.159 that you've actually turned down opportunities because they didn't feel 0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:18.280 authentic or right for your site, Jasmine. Is that true? 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:21.880 Very much? So? I pride myself with blacks with gardens 0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:26.920 being very authentic. There have been tons of opportunities for 0:22:27.160 --> 0:22:29.439 blackbirds with gardens to do certain things, but it just 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:33.680 didn't align with the type of growing that I support, 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:37.200 and I just turned it down. Obviously, it could have 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:39.920 been very lucrative and things of that sort, but that's 0:22:39.960 --> 0:22:44.000 not what I value the most in reference to our 0:22:44.119 --> 0:22:48.720 community is what's most sustainable for black people in green spaces. 0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:52.199 I can honestly say I've turned down anywhere close to 0:22:52.200 --> 0:22:55.600 twenty opportunities that's just sit in align with us. So 0:22:55.880 --> 0:23:00.240 do you think gardening gives people of color a sense 0:23:00.240 --> 0:23:03.159 of liberation that maybe they're not feeling in other areas 0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:09.960 of their life. Honestly I do. Um, gardening allows you 0:23:10.040 --> 0:23:12.960 to take control of what you're going to consume. That's 0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:15.200 just straight up what what it does, if we're gonna 0:23:15.200 --> 0:23:19.199 look at it as is it provides us the opportunity 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:22.440 to grow what we want to grow, provide the nutrients 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:25.200 that we want to provide and that's what our family 0:23:25.280 --> 0:23:30.040 is going to consume. In other lenses, I definitely think 0:23:30.720 --> 0:23:32.919 it allows us to decide where we're gonna put our 0:23:32.920 --> 0:23:37.040 money economically. Do we want to support a business or 0:23:37.119 --> 0:23:39.760 something to that effect, do we want to support that 0:23:40.119 --> 0:23:43.560 if they do not support us. I would also add 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:48.000 seeing people that I've known through the years from different 0:23:48.000 --> 0:23:51.840 walks of life, so black folks primarily though, seeing them 0:23:51.960 --> 0:23:55.080 happy about Look what I was able to do on 0:23:55.119 --> 0:23:58.280 my own. Again, it's going back to that ownership. I 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:02.080 did this myself, and yes, I get to consume this um, 0:24:02.119 --> 0:24:06.520 but also I can grow this. I can teach my 0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:09.800 children to grow UM. I can teach the children in 0:24:09.880 --> 0:24:13.560 my community to grow, and I can help them sustain 0:24:13.640 --> 0:24:18.000 their family. So often, I think for black people particularly, 0:24:18.760 --> 0:24:23.760 we don't just think about our own nuclear family. We 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:27.359 think about everyone else in the community, you know. We 0:24:27.359 --> 0:24:30.639 we do try to evoke some sort of thought of 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:35.480 longevity and how this can benefit us long term, right right, 0:24:35.520 --> 0:24:38.440 And that's the whole purpose. What we consider a group 0:24:38.440 --> 0:24:41.879 of people like even within you know, black and brown people, 0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:45.000 we wouldn't consider this type of people hanging with each other, 0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:47.600