From Slavery to Freedom Garden Tells A Powerful Story

Everybody Gardens

A heavy rain is falling outside the Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel Hill. It’s the beginning of a winter thaw, and the From Slavery to Freedom Garden near the entrance is soaking up the water preparing for spring. In one bed, small dark green spinach leaves have survived the cold, forming a carpet of green on a raised bed.

Inside there’s a gallery of artwork featuring plants referenced in the garden on loan from the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Camila Rivera-Tinsley is director of the center and director of education for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and she’s joined by Samuel Black, director of African American Programs at the Heinz History Center. While waiting out the rain, they talk about the collaboration that began four years ago to create this garden with a message... Read the full article