My daughter and I spent this last weekend volunteering at Button Farm in Germantown, Maryland. My employer made me aware of this place as I have been living in the DC Metro area for a while now and never knew that it existed in my own backyard.
Button Farm is an old 60 acre plantation that is part of the Underground Railroad Immersion project. It depicts a 19th century slave plantation. My daughter and I spent time weeding, planting and covering our plants with hay. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes and greens. The harvest will go to 12 different families who co-op with the farm and the proceeds from the sales go to the upkeep of the plantation.
Most of my co-workers were in awe that I was out there bending, kneeling, sitting on the ground, digging in the Earth with my 9 month old strapped to the front of me. I told them this is how my ancestors did it. Some of them even gave birth in the fields. They labored all day long from sun up to sundown. So what I was doing seemed pretty darn easy. My daughter was never happier. Basking in the sun and marveling at a lady bug that I picked from a leaf to show her. She enjoyed digging her bare feet into the soil, touching it and at times sampling it. It was a beautiful experience indeed to hear her laugh with glee and smile big and wide with each new discovery.
After a long days work, we went in for our meal, compliments of Smokey Glen Farm. As I ate, I looked from one end of the plantation to the other thinking of how my ancestors worked that very land, sat where I was sitting, planted where I had planted. I imagined them walking in to the old slave house after toiling the fields. I looked at my little one who had passed out from all the excitement and gave God praise. He has brought us from a mightly long way. All praises to Him.
Continued Blessings,
Meek
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