Macon Magazine

42 maconmagazine.com | February/March 2026 BY CLARENCE W. THOMAS, JR. | PHOTOS BY DSTO MOORE Rodney Mason seeks to use gardening to influence minds, bodies, and souls. C U LT U R A L C A R E T A K E R C R E A T E S N E W F O O D W AY S and especially — the way people there eat. He is also a skilled drummer. He considers the use of his interests and talents as the way he works for the people. "Who I am as a person is intrinsic. You can't separate me from food, music, and an interesting language." A major pivot in that process came when Mason decided to take the University of Georgia Extension Office Master Gardener class. It positioned him to cultivate with greater confidence and connected him with others who could shift the local gardening paradigm. The list of people who put him on the path is a who's who of public servants. Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Director Asha Ellen referred him to former Macon Housing Authority chief of resident initiatives Karen Middleton, who in turn connected him with Felton Homes property manager June Martin. As fate would have it, that location was looking to revive its community garden. Mason was hired to bring it back and put into practice what began with his childhood, picking okra at age 13. But along the way, he decided to add a culinary twist to what would be grown in these gardens. He saw the Felton garden as a way to create cultural connections. In it, you will find traditional Western food sources alongside West African and Caribbean influences, such as sorrel, Puerto Rican rice, and callaloo greens. Mason believes teaching residents to develop, share, and consume across border lines makes the world smaller, and its inhabitants become more respectful, tolerant, and appreciative of others I t is November 2021, and Louisiana native Rodney Mason arrives in Macon as a logistics supervisor with Tyson Foods. His future with the poultry-producing titan is promising, but within a short period following his landing in Central Georgia, things change, and Mason finds himself on a new vocational path. One that aligns perfectly with a resident ready to change the lives of his fellow citizens for the better, through one of the things he knows and loves most — creating oases of nutrition where food deserts once existed. The means by which Mason does that is Restored Ancestral Roots, a nonprofit he created following his departure from Tyson that focuses on advocating for food literacy, cultural arts presentations, and language awareness. "I believe you can't impact a community by taking resources away and disrupting the financial base," Mason said, sharing why he chose to stay in Macon and give it a go. "This work I'm doing is one of the greatest forms of social activism you can do." It feels like that path and the energetic creative found each other. The combination of coming from a family of growers, possessing an intense connection to the land under his feet, and desiring to empower people to become masters of their own nutritional fate is what drives Mason. He also is highly attuned to his ancestral roots, which serve him well as an educator and musician. Mason is versed in West and Central African traditions, languages, and customs, including —

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