Sound Bowls

Destiny Worley and Lexxus Davis

The Secret Life of Plants

by Stevie Wonder

One out of every three bites of our food, including fruits, vegetables, chocolate, coffee, nuts, and spices, is created with the help of pollinators. Honey bees alone pollinate 80% of all flowering plants, including more than 130 types of fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, bee populations have dropped alarmingly across North America, as have the populations of many other pollinator species. (farmers.gov)

Beekeepers play an integral role in keeping bees alive.

“..Beekeeping is not as simple as setting up a hive and letting the bees do their thing… A beekeeper’s job is to monitor the bees, supplement food where necessary, and ensure the bees can roam freely and with enough local flora to produce plenty of honey for winter. This is how beekeepers also contribute to the pollination process.” (earthincolor.co)

But who are the beekeepers in our country, and where do they keep their bees?

Black farmland ownership peaked in 1910. The US Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture reports Black people at the time owned between 16 to 19 million acres. But by 1997, the census reports that Black farmers owned just 1.5 million acres, of the 968 million acres of farmland recorded that year. This disparity in land access is still reflected today when we look at farmer demographics. Of the 3.4 million farmers reported in 2017, 95% are white and 1.4% are Black. It is estimated that a similar ratio exists for beekeepers.(www.nass.usda.gov)

These disparities in land access also exist in urban areas, due to decades of governmental redlining practices that denied mortgages, credit, and insurance to residents of certain neighborhoods - primarily for Black and immigrant communities.

These practices began over a century ago, but still shape the map of Cleveland today. And since not all beekeeping happens in the countryside, urban beekeeping is shaped by this history of discrimination and injustice.

Black beekeeping in the U.S. has a long history, including being part of the curriculum at the Tuskegee institute in the late 1800s.

“The singing birds, the buzzing bees, the opening flower, and the budding trees all have their marvelous creation story to tell each searcher for the truth… I love to think of nature as unlimited broadcasting stations, through which God speaks to us every day, every hour, and every moment of our lives if we will only tune in and remain so…”

— Dr. George Washington Carver, in a 1930 letter

Key of Love

Written with Danielle White

It was gardening at first 

Made me want to explore

I always loved bees 

No idea I’d get so close

It was a beautiful cultivation 

Truly such a gift 

I'm gonna do this for the rest of my life 

It was a hive drop 

We shake them down

With their wings, they all go up

I stood still with my hands out

The buzzing was all around 

I just closed my eyes 

I'm gonna do this for the rest of my life 

I share my faith with bees  

I pray with them  

I commune in Yah’s creation 

I am attuned in the key of love

There’s a spiritual connection

A certain call 

I feel it with the bees

They’ve gotten to know me

A relationship with them 

That is my specialty

I'm gonna do this for the rest of my life 

Serenade in C major, Op. 10: II. Romanza: Adagio non troppo

By Ernö Dohnányi

Bee Stings Can Heal

Written with Ebonie Randle

The hive got knocked down 

Vandalized by humans 

My neighbor texted me 

‘Your bees are out of control’  

I didn’t know bee stings can heal

Fresh out the shower

I smell like a flower 

A threat to the bees 

Stung over twenty times

I didn’t know bee stings can heal

My face was swollen  

Felt sick and lethargic  

Picked up my son from school

He said, mom who beat you up?

I didn’t know bee stings can heal

Didn’t wanna go back in the hive  

The sisters supported me  

Coaxing me back  

Taught me to use mindfulness 

I didn’t know bee stings can heal

Lies You Can Believe In

by Missy Mazzoli

I Feel So Connected

Written with Lexxus Davis

We had a hive in our backyard

Learning how nature works 

An opportunity for my children 

And for me too 

I feel so connected and I don’t wanna let go 

It became a family event  

The kids go in the hive with us 

A ritual of sharing honey 

It has brought us closer

I feel so connected and I don’t wanna let go 

One of the sisters met with me

Divine alignment 

Being around the hive 

There is so much trust 

I feel so connected and I don’t wanna let go

The little moments set us up

for what we have now 

Which is a family 

We are so connected 

I feel so connected and I don’t wanna let go 

Kinda Cute

Written with Charlierose Neely

I went to bee school with my mom

The only melanated 

Excited to go and learn 

I used to think bees were terrifying

But also kinda cute  

I feel like the sisters truly guide me 

I learn about them and their bees 

They inspire me to know my bees  

I used to think bees were terrifying

But also kinda cute  

I’m ready to go in to the hive

I’m not gonna get hurt 

If I do, it's not the end of the world  

I used to think bees were terrifying

But also kinda cute 

I'll be sad if a bee stings me 

They are trying to defend their queen    

Their hive, their home

Bees fly past me and I stand in awe

I admire their presence 

They’re not after me 

It’s given me a friendship with them 

I used to think bees were terrifying

But also kinda cute

Flight of the Bumblebee

By Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, trans. Fabrizio Ferrari

Caretaker

Written with James Johnson 

Five years in the military 

I’m married with kids and a house 

PTSD and in a dark space  

So what now?                 

As the caretaker I wanna make sure they’re really taken care of   

I got out in the garden

Started taking care of plants 

Helping life thrive instead of taking away  

I found purpose

As the caretaker I wanna make sure they’re really taken care of 

I became a beekeeper 

Had a hive in the backyard 

Learning that bees do their own thing  

And take care of themselves 

As the caretaker I wanna make sure they’re really taken care of   

The Sisters welcomed me 

I nurture and offer safety 

Allowing them to create and to commune 

I am grateful 

As the caretaker I wanna make sure they’re really taken care of 

Safety of Sisters

Written with Destiny Worley

We went to the garden and talked 

Sisterhood, birth work, and beekeeping 

It was a perfect connection  

I was safe with my sisters 

I was safe with the bees 

My soul gets ignited just thinking 

About what all we work towards  

Such harmony when together 

I was safe with my sisters 

I was safe with the bees 

I know which bugs are my friend

And which bugs are not 

I know which girls are my sisters

And which girls are not 

I love suiting up with my sisters 

It really feels like a covering

Supported beyond beekeeping

I was safe with my sisters 

I was safe with the bees 

I'm learning how to accept help 

The sisters have my back 

Would not have made it without them

I was safe with my sisters 

I was safe with the bees  

Deserted Garden

Florence Price (originally for violin and piano)

A Hive’s Song

Written with My Sistas Keeper

Last winter was cold, freezing

We went above and beyond 

To make sure they survived 

But when I went out the other day 

I knew the hives were gone 

So many bees were lost 

It’s a heart loss, an emotional loss

We have such a close connection

We haven’t gave up

‘Cause we know we’re not alone

Listening to hear anything 

Or feel vibrations

Then opening the hives 

Seeing the bees didn’t make it 

They’d been trying to hold on

So many bees were lost 

Did I do something wrong? 

Did I not prep you well for winter? 

My heart was broken devastated 

Both of the hives I loved on 

And nurtured didn’t make it.  

Bees are dying across the US

But few talk about it 

An expensive investment

The price of bees is goin’ up

Don’t have money for more bees

So many bees were lost 

There’s a fruit tree by the hive

But there won’t be fruit this year,

‘Cause there aren’t any bees 

It’s a whole chain, if one thing falls 

Your life is at stake 

So many bees were lost