Deep Roots

Tracy Pepper envisions a communal garden space that spans cultures

BY LAURA PETERSEN

Suddenly, she felt the sense of connection and belonging she was seeking.

In the midst of sadness—tending plants, pulling weeds, with the sky overhead— flashes of Tracy Pepper’s grandmother appeared in her mind.

As she wrestled with feelings of deep sorrow and devastation, Tracy felt a gap in her Being, like something had been stolen from her. She couldn’t find the stories of her people, her lineage in Africa. There was no recorded history of her ancestors beyond the slave ships that took them away from the Congo.

“For me, the garden is a magical place that brings me back to my roots that can hold me up; it gives me a sense of place and time. In this place, I feel deeply rooted and connected with my grandmother.”’

Tracy is the Director of Color Me Human, a new nonprofit organization working to dismantle systems of oppression on people of color and the LGBTQ community within Nevada County. The organization is actively pursuing a community garden project called Grandmommy’s Garden, which will honor Tracy’s beloved grandmother—a woman of strength, compassion, and generosity—and all of our grandmothers.

“The idea of grandmother is something most folx can relate to. For many of us, Grandmothers represent the matriarchal figure. Truly unconditional love,” reminisces Tracy.

From Left to Right: Daniela Fernández, Program Director; Tracy Pepper, Director; Ana Mendez, Youth Development Coordinator

Rooted in justice, Grandmommy’s Garden will be a communal garden space centered around cultivating a cross-cultural community. Tracy envisions art and sculptures, benches for people to sit on and a playground where children play while their parents work in the garden.

“I want it to be a refuge, where you can be accepted and surrounded by love. We are committed to food justice, education, and the celebration of Black, Indigenous and People of Color community members. We are sowing seeds of humanity and liberation,” Tracy promises.

PLANTING SEEDS

As a young girl, Tracy was often at her Grandmommy’s apron. “Mother Keyes,” as she was known, was a much-respected elder in the community. She and her husband raised 15 children and many grandchildren in the neighborhood. Tracy’s granddaddy was a farmer who was instrumental in building the nearby community Baptist church.

The year she was born, Tracy moved to Bakersfield with her mother and siblings to live with her widowed grandmother. That was home until she was five.

“I didn’t realize at the time how treasured and valuable that time was,” beams Tracy.

Travelers coming from the south to work in the California cottonfields were told to go to Mrs. Keyes’ house if they needed a place to eat or sleep. There was always a pot on the stove and a sleeping porch for visitors. “She always wanted to help folks,” Tracy smiles.

A bountiful garden, Grandmommy’s summer garden was abundant with walnuts, pecans, peaches, lemons and apple trees, grapes spilling over the fence, chickens and rows of vegetables. In the kitchen, there were always pies—whole and half-eaten—made with fruit from Grandmommy’s plentiful garden. Tracy remembers being just tall enough to peer over the dining room table where her grandmother would roll out dough.

Tracy and the other children in the neighborhood were raised by a village of grandmothers. It’s that same communal spirit that she envisions for her community garden project in Nevada County today: a safe, nurturing place where people can comfortably gather, share, lend a hand, heal and harvest the fruits of their labor.

“I see Grandmommy’s Garden as a place to celebrate, a beacon to remind people this is where we come from.” Learn more about how you can support this project and get involved: colormehuman.org.

Submitted photo from Tracy: “The people in the photo are Geneva Keyes (grandmother) and to her right my eldest brother (Mitch). In front from left to right are my older brother (Al, aka Poochie), little ole' me, and my older sister (Lori). All dressed up in their best Sunday-go-to-church clothes.”

Rooted in justice, Grandmommy’s Garden is a communal garden space centered around cultivating a cross-cultural community. We are committed to food justice, education, and celebration of Black, Indigenous and People of Color community members. With food, justice and love, we are sowing seeds of humanity and liberation.

BY COLOR ME HUMAN

Grandmommy’s Garden is an opportunity to bring together many different cultures in service to the land and to one another. A community with “hands in and on land,” as Shelly Covert says.

In partnership with C.H.I.R.P. and Sierra Harvest, we’re working to establish a Community Garden by and for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and LGBTQ+ individuals and families. The early inclusion of CHIRP and the input of the Nisenan is vital, and we look forward to working alongside them to respectfully and collaboratively tend their ancestral homelands.

By press time for this edition of The Vine, Color Me Human was actively seeking a home base for their garden project, working with folks in the community who have shown an outpouring of support and are volunteering their skills and time to make this dream a reality.

Grandma’s Peach Cobbler

Makes 10 servings

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 (15 ounce) can peaches in heavy syrup

1 ½ cups white sugar, divided

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Place ½ cup butter in a casserole dish.

Place casserole dish in the preheating oven until butter is melted. Remove. Mix remaining 1/4 cup butter, peaches, ½ cup white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Spread over melted butter in the casserole dish.

Mix remaining 1 cup white sugar, milk, flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl to make a smooth batter. Pour over peach mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.