The oral history of Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad tomato could easily fit on an index card with room to spare. Years later, her great-nephew, Francis Parker, began sharing the seeds for what had become “Aunt Lou’s tomato” with fellow gardening enthusiasts. Millwood, who was white, suggested adding the “Underground Railroad” part to reflect the anti-slavery activity in the plant’s apparent home ground, and to acknowledge how enslaved people helped build the nation’s agricultural wealth in captivity. Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad tomato illustrates the difficulty of constructing a more inclusive and accurate historical record. Still, an ever-expanding host of farmers, seed keepers, and historians have dedicated their work to excavating, whenever possible, how Black Americans stewarded and preserved plants.

Source: The Guardian June 21, 2023 13:11 UTC