Peace and Harmony Garden

Located across the street from your current position is The Fred Jackson Peace and Harmony Garden, which was built on a previously vacant lot. This is the initiative of Iyalode Kinney, a neighborhood resident, who together with other community members, turned a neglected space into a thriving community garden.

The transformation of this piece of land started when Iyalode Kinney, the Founder and Garden Director of Communities United Restoring Mother Earth (CURME), started the community garden project in 2010. With her extensive experience in establishing community gardens globally, she has been able to build the Fred Jackson Peace and Harmony Garden. Kinney continues to maintain the Fred Jackson Peace and Harmony Garden and welcomes the participation of community members in this work. You can help her with this work every Tuesday and Thursday morning at approximately 10 a.m. This is an inspiring example of a community coming together. With the assistance of other community members, this garden has flourished into its current state. You can view the complete interview of Iyalode Kinney here.

Another person this garden and street honors is Fred Davis Jackson, a prominent community leader and veteran from North Richmond. He dedicated the majority of his life to community activism. Jackson collaborated with Kinney to establish this garden, but unfortunately, he passed away in 2011. His legacy left a significant impact on his community. In the years following his death, a mural was painted by the artist Timothy Bluittin in the garden to commemorate the late Fred Jackson, and the street itself, one of the main roads in the neighborhood, was named in his honor.