And Then I Met Eugene

I sat in my car on a street in a part of Atlanta to which I'd never gone, in the Old Fourth Ward, divided from the towering skyscrapers of downtown Atlanta by a highway, burned by a fire in 1917, rebuilt with "Sweet Auburn Avenue" as its heartbeat, but struggling through the years to really turn the corner from poverty and crime (although there is a terrific Comprehensive Land Use Plan that shows great promise on all fronts).  And I waited.  My email messages to Rashid had been, no doubt, annoyingly noncommittal.  I'll come if it doesn't snow.  I'll come if Bob can drive.  I'll come if . . .

Enough, already, I told myself after my third email.  Rashid's son, Kamal, had sent me the plan for this new urban farm, the new Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, and it is mind-blowing (see a terrific video from the groundbreaking halfway down this post). It is eight acres in about as urban a setting as you can imagine, where an apartment complex named Wheat Street Gardens used to stand and now an actual Wheat Street Gardens is being planted, where a skyscaper with the word "Equitable" looms not far away as a harbinger of a new spring for this neighborhood, this country, this world.

But more importantly, Rashid had sent that simple message.  To come.  And for reasons that I no longer question, I just knew for sure that I must.

So Rashid arrived and we "walked the land" together (which is owned by the Wheat Street Baptist Church--the little church in this photo to the right), the glorious morning sun dancing off the edges of 50 25-foot-long raised beds (yes, that's 5,000 square feet just in raised beds), several plots of plowed rows as meticulously laid out as all of Truly Living Well's farms, a butterfly pattern of soil ready for herbs and flowers. Wood poles already in place to hold the blackberries and muscadines that are coming soon. Worm bins already at work.   A crew starting work on a greenhouse, which will be finished by Tuesday.  Another spot for a hoop house.  And one for an office.  And another for a market.

"Not bad for a month, huh?"

A month.  And then it hit me--Rashid has only been working at this newest satellite location for that amount of time, and he's been in Atlanta for only about five years.  What he has accomplished has been nothing short of outstanding.  

And then I met Eugene.

How had I not met Eugene Cooke before? Rashid and Eugene had worked together in California (where Eugene created food forests) and then Rashid had gone to Africa.  When the opportunity to farm in Atlanta came up, Rashid called Eugene and together they started Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms.  And sure enough, if you look back on any of those Rashid videos, you'll see Eugene. 

Eugene reminds me of a martial artist, confident in his power and abilities yet cognizant of his responsibility to use them where they can do the most good.  He is the quiet one in the room.  Until he's not.  And then he is ablaze with passion and purpose.  He speaks beautifully, with depth and meaning.  And, I have to admit here in all brutal honesty, he sees right through me, sharply.  I felt raw in his presence.  He has no accommodations for pretense, and as much as I like to think I don't have any, I was forced to come completely clean.  Like Rashid, he demands honesty, in words, in actions, in intention.  And, by the way, I find this essence permeates the urban agriculture movement (and, in fact, it's one of the main things I like about being involved), perhaps because it draws people like Eugene and Rashid.  Or perhaps because unadorned honesty is necessary, because, really, when it comes down to simple truths, a radish seed doesn't lie.  It just is what it is, authentically.

I asked about that building right on the edge of this urban farm.  Turns out it's the Ebenezer Baptist Church, along with the original building where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached, and the King Center is right behind it.  Twenty one years I've been in Atlanta, and I didn't know that?  My goodness, that's embarrassing, especially since I worked for four years a stone's throw away from this location at CNN Center.

While Rashid and Eugene and I were talking, we could see a steady stream of people heading to the King Center and tour buses circling the block, stopping to glance at this garden oasis rising in the midst.  Two million people a year, Rashid told me.  

Eight days from today, January 17, is the 25th anniversary of the national celebration of Martin Luther King Day.  That day is considered a day on, not off, as people are asked to consider participating in service projects for their community.  And if you are in Atlanta, I can think of no better service project than this one--planting fruit trees at the Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, with Rashid and Eugene and many other hands and hearts from around metro Atlanta and beyond.  Here, let Eugene invite you instead:

Thanks, Rashid and Eugene. For all you do. And all you are.

And Then I Met Eugene