Sweet justice and potato pie
How baking pies became a mission, a ministry, and a movement.
By Logan Brunner & James Adams| Reporters
Rose McGee woke in the middle of the night. She heard a voice call out, telling her to “bake the pies and bring them down.” The date, August 9, 2014 — the day Michael Brown Jr. was fatally shot by police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. The downcast reality that met Brown is no anomaly, police brutality towards Black men has plagued the United States for decades. For McGee, the news of this shooting was another pain in her heart. She’s never been a fan of cooking, though this time, she had a call to respond to.
Bake the pies and bring them down.
In Black culture, sweet potato pie is a coveted dessert. The warmth of nutmeg, cinnamon, and natural saccharine of the potatoes is a taste that connotes more than eating — it calls back to generations. The pie is served at birthdays, holidays, funerals, baptisms, and picnics. Where gatherings happen, the pies can be there.
Soon after the fatal shooting, McGee decided to go to her kitchen and bake 30 sweet potato pies, drive from her Golden Valley home, and give the pies to the mourning people of Ferguson. As soon as the pies were cooled, she and her son got in the car and brought them down.
“I knew I had to do something with this energy.” –Rose McGee, founder
After traveling to Ferguson, McGee became a prominent figure in the wake of police brutality. Wherever there were mourning people, McGee and her pies were there to bring a slice of comfort and conversation. The pies were becoming something more than comfort food — they became a representation of togetherness and movement.
“We are more than just a pretty pie. We bring people together in spaces where other people are able to come together and share.” –Rose McGee, founder
Over time, the baking of sweet potato pies during times of injustice transitioned from a smaller movement to a legitimate nonprofit ministry. McGee invited family and friends to help bake the pies, eventually inviting strangers from her community to join. The baking was simply a vessel for gathering in fellowship. As the pies took shape, so did the conversation. McGee would lead talks on race and injustice, allowing for her community to come together, relate, and learn from each other.
McGee did not keep her baking secluded to comforting victims of police brutality but took it to any who mourned. She has baked with Native American grandmothers, wearing their traditional skirts. She has baked in a Jewish Synagogue, where she said the kosher guidelines made it a bit difficult. Baking and involving herself with other cultures taught her the importance of respect for traditions that are not her own.
Make some pies and set them on your porch
The voice came back to McGee, calling much closer to home. The all too familiar pains came back. The pain she felt with Ferguson. The pain she had felt for years and years. The death of George Floyd shook the nation to the core — some sweet potato comfort was very needed. McGee gave just that to the mourners in Minneapolis.
“We are in the midst of two pandemics,” McGee said.
COVID-19 has changed the way McGee goes about her baking. She can no longer have face-to-face interaction with her colleagues, so she hosts virtual baking sessions.
As Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend approaches in January, McGee prepares for her biggest event of the year. In an act of remembrance, McGee and her colleagues bake the same amount of pies as the age that Dr. King would have been. The first year her group got involved in 2014, they made 85 pies, this year, they made 91.
McGee answered a call she heard long ago. The pies began as a means toward comfort and community. Never did she imagine that they would become such a large part of her life. Now it is more than pies, it is ministry, mission, and movement.
“Sweet potato comfort pie is a catalyst for caring and building community,” she said.
Rose McGee’s sweet potato comfort pie recipe
Makes 2 9-inch pies
Ingredients
4 medium-to-large sweet potatoes, boiled with skin on until tender, then cooled and peeled
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tsp ground ginger
1 Tsp lemon extract
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 unbaked pie shells
Additional pie crust dough, for heart-shaped decoration, optional
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Using an electric mixer, blend peeled sweet potatoes with brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in eggs, melted butter, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and lemon extract one at a time, and mix well.
4. Stir in milk just until combined.
5. Divide filling between two pie shells. If adding a decoration on top of the pie, use a cookie cutter to make a heart shape. Place on top of pie filling.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and place pie in oven.
7. Bake 60 minutes or until center of pie is firm.
8. Remove from oven. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before eating and at least 2 hours before packaging. Pie can be served warm or allowed to cool longer before eating.
(Note: Sweet potato pie can be left at room temperature up to two days without refrigeration. Pie can be refrigerated up to one week and remain fresh. Can also be frozen.)
