In late July, Shirley Bell-Wheeler invited her community for a special day at Revolutionary Love Farm in Mt. Pleasant.
That day, Wheeler was presenting certificates to young people who’d been working on the urban farm. She was also dedicating a new playground to the memory of her infant son, who died the year before. Her husband, Jermaine Wheeler, grilled pork chops and hot peppers for whoever happened to stop by. The blackberry bushes were about to burst. Ripe tomatoes and peppers overflowed from a bowl.
Events like these are at the heart of RevLove, as it’s commonly known. The farm started as a way to bring fresh produce to a neighborhood where grocery stores were closing. It turned vacant lots into productive soil using city land bank property, an effort Mayor Justin Bibb encouraged across the city by revamping the Summer Sprout urban gardening program. And it’s become a community hub, a place young people can feel safe on a block that exists in the long shadow of serial killer Anthony Sowell.
Despite this, Bell-Wheeler says that, behind the scenes, she’s been fighting a serious effort to “dismantle” RevLove — a battle she believes is led by City Council Member Deborah Gray, whose ward encompasses the farm…