Rodney Medley stood framed by three tables stacked with jars of honey, amber and prismatic like a honeycomb.
“They call me the ‘Halchemist’,” he said, a maniacal glint in his eye. “That’s the ‘Honey Alchemist’.”
The honeys sold by Rodney and his wife, Rebekah Medley, include concoctions like the Smoked Ol’ Fashion infused with North Carolina bourbon, supposedly great on baked beans or in a cocktail. Their company, Beehive Yourself, also sells more traditional honeys, including their wildflower line. The strawberry flavor is made from the nectar of bees that pollinate 27 acres of strawberry bushes.
Medley held up a clear sphere holding the strawberry honey, etched with honey combs and topped with what looked like a grenade clip. This “grenade” is Beehive Yourself’s way of giving out samples, Medley explained as he demonstrated his technique. He pressed down on the clip, dropping a string of honey on the back of his hand to taste (normally it’s the customer’s hand). Then he tells customers, “You have to kiss yourself.”
To Medley’s right was a row of jars of elderberry honey, part of Beehive Yourself’s apothecary line, said to have medicinal properties. “I know it’s North Carolina elderberry since I was the one picking them,” Medley proclaimed. For 10 days a year, he stops all operations to go pick elderberries on the side of rural roads. Last year, he collected over 40 pounds of elderberries.
Beehive Yourself joined the Black Farmers’ Market in 2021, two years after the market started in 2019. Since then, the Medleys have collaborated with other market regulars, working with Kidd Farms to create their black garlic honey and Leanna’s Bakery to create honey bread.
Despite not being there from the start, Medley has integrated into the community of vendors and repeat customers. “If I haven’t been here in a while, it’s like a family reunion.”
A tent on the opposite end of the parking lot housed 4M Farm, a third-generation family farm based in Roxboro that has been a vendor at the market since the beginning. Mark Paylor Jr., one of the owners, walked alongside a cornucopia of seasonal produce spread out over two long tables; blueberries, sweet potatoes, snap peas, beets, onions and more. He came to a stop at an empty spot where the strawberries used to be and laughed. “Didn’t I just say the strawberries would sell out?”
As Paylor spoke, Ja’Nell Henry, one of the market’s founders, zipped between the tents. According to her, the Black Farmers’ Market was originally a biannual event. Then the owners of 4M Farm and Pine Knot Farms called her father, Rickey Henry.
“They were like, ‘Can you come in? Can you tell your daughter we want to meet with her?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh Lord, what did we do?’” Ja’Nell said. Representatives of the two families sat the Henrys down and convinced them to hold the event every Sunday. It currently alternates between Durham Technical Community College and Southeast Raleigh YMCA.
Ja’Nell now works for the market full time. Event planning has been a passion of hers since she was a child.
“I would save up my own money, plan my own birthday party,” she explained before heading back to her home base, the information tent.
Across the parking lot, under a neon orange tent, was the most colorful business at the market. Bianca Anderson smiled brightly, calling out “How y’all doing?” to everyone who walked by. Marcus Anderson stood up to offer customers samples of Organic Royalz sea moss, little plastic cylinders filled with electric blue and apple green gel.
Marcus opened a cooler filled with jars of sea moss gel in every flavor; Carolina Blue Lemonade, Granny Smith Apple, Fresh Strawberry, Honey Cinnamon, Lemon Ginger and Mango Mambo.
The sea moss used to make their gel is collected from the ocean in St. Lucia. From there, it is sundried at a facility in Georgia, then sent to the Andersons, who flavor it themselves.
According to Bianca, sea moss is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral. You can put it in a smoothie or rub it on your skin. The Andersons originally started flavoring their sea moss gel to get their kids to eat it.
Their three children, Brooke, 9, Eden, 7, and Reign, 6, chatted peacefully behind them in their little lawn chairs.
Organic Royalz has been with the market for about three years. Bianca has only seen the plus side of being a Black business; the community coming out to support them.
“I think as a business, you have challenges. It doesn’t matter what color you are,” Bianca said. Before she could finish her thought, her daughter Reign spilled a whole scoop of Italian ice down her leg and began to scream.
“That’s the challenge,” Bianca said, as she and Marcus both turned to wipe up the spill with paper napkins.
Once Reign was settled on her tablet, Brooke abandoned her unicorn lawn chair to join her mom behind the table. Bianca and Marcus dream of passing Organic Royalz down to their children, and Brooke is especially interested. While Bianca helped a customer choose between the strawberry and blue lemonade flavors, Brooke announced that she wants to start a cookie business. She hasn’t made any cookies yet, she added.
“I also wanna make earrings,” Brooke said, flaunting earrings strung with daisy beads that she made herself.
The clock was striking four, and the market began to disassemble itself. Mark Paylor loaded coolers full of turkey, chicken and beef burgers into the back of a truck. It was hard to hear his voice over the rumble of the engine, but Paylor still stopped to talk to customers walking to their cars, saying he hoped to see them at the next market.
The event is like a cookout, he says. “We show up every week, like, alright, who’s gonna be at the cookout this week?”
Above: Rodney Medley of Beehive Yourself demonstrates his preferred honey-sampling technique. Photo by Alexandria Roberts — The 9th Street Journal
