Raqueeb Bey, the founder and executive director of Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh, joins this episode’s host, Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine, to discuss food deserts, the healing effects of holistic gardening and the organization’s surprise boost from alt-rock stars Rage Against the Machine.

Raqueeb founded Black Urban Gardeners (BUGS), a collective of Black men and women who use education and gardening experiences to address the food desert challenges that persist in many Black and brown communities, in 2015. As she came to recognize a fraying generational knowledge of how to garden, she was moved to take action through BUGS and Mama Africa's Green Scouts, a youth program she founded that teaches community gardening and sustainability. 

“We don’t just grow food,” Raqueeb says. “We grow minds and leaders.”

Raqueeb shares her journey from a career in finance and banking to becoming a prominent figure in the growing food sovereignty movement, as well the the inspiration her godfather gave her that led her to understand the health and healing power of working with the earth.

Her work with BUGS – including running a 31,000-square-foot teaching farm in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood – has gained national attention in media outlets including Environmental Health News and Good Morning America. BUGS also garnered recent headlines for the recognition that alt-rock stars Rage Against the Machine gave the organization during their current world tour.

Raqueeb is clear about the historical obstacles that Black and brown communities have long faced in their opportunities to own and work their own land, many of which continue to this day, resulting in food insecurity and limited access to healthy food.

As she encourages others to take charge of their food and health, Raqueeb is optimistic about the future of the fight to end food apartheid.

“Every day I see the health benefits, community, and emotional healing power that Black urban gardeners of all ages experience when they work with the earth.”

This episode of “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image credit: Brian Cook/Golden Sky Media.