Tree of 40 Fruits

 Tree of Forty Fruits: Is This America?

This morning on The CBS Morning News, I watched a segment talking about a "Tree of 40 Fruits."  This concept is a creation of artist, photographer, sculptor, and Syracuse University art professor Sam Van Aken. Van Aken has grafted/ hybridized many pitted fruit trees in this scientific/ artistic project. Not only is he looking to create stunning seasonal colors, he is saving native, heirloom fruits that are not popular with supermarket chains.

His trees contain over 40 varieties of peaches, apricots, cherries, nectarines, plums, and almonds that date back to the 17th Century! Click below for a 5 minute TED Talk featuring Professor Van Aken.

San Van Aken in his orchard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9EuJ9QlikY

I immediately thought that this tree was a perfect symbol for "Killing Jellyfish" and how beautiful America could truly be...

Is This America?

Since 1790, The United States of America has performed a census (a very important information gathering tool) every 10 years and has sorted people by very distinct racial groupings since the early 1800's (even categorizing "degrees of blackness")...and "race" was grafted into the national census during the Eugenics Movement of the early 1900's. These racial groupings were based on a widely accepted "scientific" study entitled, "The Five Races of Mankind."  Still today, we use this preposterous, archaic, and racist system to classify human beings as White (Hispanic or non-Hispanic), Black, American Indian/ Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander.

Listen to Kenneth Prewiitt (Census Expert) discuss Census History

 and advice on how to improve the census...27 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5IqCwHbt2M

IMO...the word "race" should be immediately removed from our census. To ask people who come from over 20+ Spanish-speaking countries, are multicultural, etc. to describe themselves as a monolithic race is simply mind boggling and an insult to our rich heritage. 

When will people be able to describe themselves however they want and in as many ways as they want in America...the most grafted and hybridized "Tree of 40 Fruits" in the world!