Written by Arian Roman

As 2022 marches on, we can observe tangible changes in the celebration of Black History Month, Pride Month, and (now) Juneteenth. 

What Does Juneteenth Represent?

On June 19, 1866, a year after the emancipation announcement, freedmen and women in Texas formed the first annual  "Jubilee Day". Early celebrations of this holiday were primarily used as political rallies to give voting information to newly freed African Americans. 

In 2016, at the age of 90, Opal Lee, the "grandmother of Juneteenth", walked from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to petition for federal holiday status. Juneteenth finally became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day became one in 1986. Juneteenth is a day of celebration and remembrance that although slavery has ended, there is still so much work to be done in the United States.

Opal Lee, 94, and hundreds of others walk towards downtown Fort Worth from Evans Avenue Plaza during the first national Juneteenth holiday on June 19, 2021. (Photo by AMANDA McCOY via Star Telegram)

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Opal Lee (2nd L), the activist known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, with US President Joe Biden before signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, June 17, 2021, in Washington. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Cannabis History and Black History Are Closely Tied Together 

“Black history is cannabis history. Black history is the United States history. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all permanently interlaced. So when we celebrate hemp legalization or pop fireworks on July 4th, we also need to acknowledge in the same breath that Black people’s literal blood, sweat, and tears are behind those celebrations.”

– DM Blunted

 

American cannabis is deeply intertwined with Black history and our nation’s troubled legacy of institutionalized racism. In fact, in the United States, cannabis was originally cultivated by enslaved people. Born in Kentucky, the American hemp industry flourished because of the forced labor of West Africans in which they grew the hemp seeds carried by their Virginian slave-masters. 

Today, we celebrate cannabis not just through the consumption of oils and concentrates but also with CBD gummies and THC gummies—products that have made cannabinoids more accessible and enjoyable. However, the road to enjoying these products freely has not been equal for all. The cannabis industry has a responsibility to acknowledge this legacy and actively work toward social equity.

Cannabis Businesses Have a Unique Role in the Celebration of this Holiday

We must not forget that black and brown folks sit behind bars in cities and states where recreational and medical cannabis prohibition continues. Even in Colorado, where adult use is legal and cannabis consumption is equal across racial demographics, Black people face much higher arrest rates than white people. Although cannabis arrests are down, there is a distinct and unsettling racial disparity. 

With legal cannabis programs in place, the public eye is finally addressing the cannabis-related inequalities and injustices in communities of color. These discussions range from equity programs that include business incubation, technical assistance, and distribution of new business licenses to no-charge expungements for cannabis-related arrests. 

(Image by SHAYANNE GAL/Business Insider)

Juneteenth is an example of a holiday that only Black businesses should rightfully commoditize. For some African Americans, Juneteenth is synonymous with financial liberation. The legalization of cannabis and the creation of social equity programs do not equal reparations for slavery by any means. But these equity programs can level out the playing field and start transforming the lives of descendants of enslaved people, ultimately helping them build generational wealth.  

Juneteenth in the 21st Century Faces Predatory Capitalists

From Walmart’s tone-deaf “Juneteenth” flavored ice cream to aisles filled with companies' cringe-worthy attempts to capitalize on historically-excluded populations, we have sadly reached a point in history where cultural movements are quickly manipulated for profit. 

(Photo by LAINE DOSS via MIAMI NEW TIMES)

Social media platforms, targeted ads, and fast-moving corporations seeking to capitalize on messaging that will give them a competitive advantage rather than serve the collective. Cannabis industry stakeholders, for example, should focus on ending the stigma and unfair targeting African Americans face daily concerning marijuana charges. 

How You Can Get Involved

Supporting Black cannabis brands is the bare minimum non-Black consumers can do, especially since this demographic is routinely imprisoned and arrested at 3x the rate for this plant. 

The fact that this industry was built on the backs of African Americans, much like the rest of the United States, and yet Black cannabis brands continue to struggle is unacceptable. As an industry and a community, we can do better. We need to support one another, especially during this grueling socio-economic time.

Check out Cannaclusive's "Accountability List" for more information on how cannabis brands are showing up, and the ones making a difference in the space. 

At the start of my career in cannabis, long before I founded Kush Queen, I learned about the path to legalization in California and the shared history of the LGBTQIA+ community with cannabis.

From that moment on, I made it my mission to honor the Queer activists who came before us, the true OGs we can thank for providing us with safe access to this plant.

At Kush Queen, Pride is Honoring a Shared History

In the 1980s, Queer community leaders in San Fransisco ushered in the beginnings of legal cannabis as they worked to ease health and wellness struggles around the AIDS epidemic. Their real-life needs brought legitimacy to the medical cannabis conversation. Pictures of my Queer community heroes hang in my office; Cleve Jones, Dennis Peron, and Mary Jane Rathburn look over me as I run Kush Queen.

Brownie Mary, wearing one of her signature buttons. SCOTT SOMMERDORF / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE / POLARIS

Also on my wall of heroes is Marsha P. Johnson, another great reminder of gay liberation and how we got here today. Her beautiful smile beams back at me as I write this. 

For those not familiar with her story, Johnson was a trans activist, self-identified drag queen, and a true survivor living in New York City. She was also one of the first protesters at the Stonewall riots in 1969. Many recall Johnson having thrown the first brick outside of the club, but the truth is no one really agrees on who or what started it (was it a brick? a bottle? or city cobblestone?). 

Marsha P. Johnson Poster by MICAH BAZANT

Nonetheless, everyone does agree that Johnson and fellow trans activist Sylvia Rivera played a massive part in the spontaneous protest against a police raid in those early morning hours. This act of social uprising is often viewed as the first Pride celebration, sparking a series of events that would change the LGBTQIA+ community forever. 

Pride is Revolutionary and Non-Conforming

Pride (as we know it today) is all about Queer celebration and love, but its roots are steeped in the journey of equal rights, visibility, and the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people. It was never about rainbow-tinted capitalism, fleeting social media icons, and albeit, even super fun parades. Pride is about Queer liberation. 

"Stonewall was, at its core, about people reclaiming their narratives from a society that told them they were sick or pitiful or didn’t even exist," writes Shane O’Neill, a journalist for the New York Times. 

A 1970 photo of Marsha P. Johnson handing out flyers in support of Gay Students at NYU is seen here courtesy of the New York Public Library's "1969: The Year of Gay Liberation" exhibit. Diana Davies/NYPL/Handout via Reuters, FILE

After Stonewall, a new generation of gay activists emerged and organized, creating resources like the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). These events and grassroots organizations focused on Queer individuals gaining access to equal rights as citizens while also helping the community find dignity, acceptance, and a sense of belonging within society. STAR, for example, provided housing and support to homeless LGBT youth and sex workers in New York City.

Pride is About Community and Peers Supporting Peers

For everyone at Kush Queen, Pride is about more than just a seasonal festivity, it’s about taking a stand, increasing visibility, and supporting our Queer communities all year round. 

This year Kush Queen is donating 20% of proceeds from our Pride Collection to The Social Impact Center, founded by beloved Queer cannabis hero Felicia Carbajal, as well as to the Trans Latina Coalition, a local Los Angeles community-led, and founded organization.

Kush Queen 2022 Pride Collection

Our Pride Collection for 2022 features a Delta 8 THC water-based and latex-safe infused lube and 1:1 Delta 8 THC and CBD Trans Flag-inspired bath bomb in honor of our trans brothers and sisters.

Queer Liberation is Still Needed

Currently, countless pieces of appalling legislation are moving through state governments as an attempt to target the rights of trans people, attack trans youth, and reverse decades-worth of progress. 

According to the advocacy group, Human Rights Campaign, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were proposed in 2022 alone.

Sam Ames, the director of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project recently explained to CBS news "research has shown that as many as 85% of trans youth say that they are watching these debates over their identity play out,". Ames continues "the direct results of these bills when they pass are to take away things that we know are correlated with increased mental health and decreased suicide risk: sports team participation, seeing yourself represented in a classroom, being accepted by your parents and your healthcare professionals. These are all associated with significantly lower odds of attempting suicide." 

It feels like Queer liberation is more important than ever, especially with such blatantly coordinated attacks against people who identify as such. 

Pride is Personal

Inclusivity and visibility are part of Kush Queen’s DNA. From the all-gender restroom to the Queer individuals who appear in our content and work behind the scenes, Kush Queen's identity as a brand is unapologetically gay.

 

As I get choked up thinking about my own experiences and identity, I can’t help but think about what a personal intimate experience celebrating Pride is for me. As a human, I self-identify not only as the CEO of this company but as a Queer woman surrounded by countless other Queer people in my life. People who are my family, friends, and frankly, my inspirations. I think of my parents raising a Queer son in South Louisiana and not once did anything but accept him for who he was. 

Since its inception, Kush Queen has celebrated Pride (year-round) and has raised well over $40,000 for Queer organizations, something I'm incredibly proud of.

Shop the 2022 Pride Collection and join our community for community support.

At Kush Queen, our hope for the cannabis industry is for those within it to be as diverse as the people who use this plant.

We started this company with infused bath bombs because we recognized how approachable this product is and how much a stigma breaker it could be. Destigmatizing cannabis, and the people who use it, has always been our mission as a brand.  That mission also extends to the innovative ways people enjoy cannabis today, like through our CBD gummies and THC gummies.

Photo Courtesy of Kush Queen

In honor of Black History Month, we at Kush Queen are celebrating the incredible individuals working towards and advocating for real change in cannabis - more specifically, for a socially equitable space. With skyrocketing taxes and very little support, the disenfranchised communities (whose backs this industry was built on) are sadly getting left behind. The truth is the cannabis industry as a whole has a long, long way to go before becoming the equal playing field it needs to be. Thankfully, these inspiring and selfless Black entrepreneurs are working incessantly towards making social equity in cannabis a reality. 

 

Successful Reality Television Executive turned Cannabis Industry CEO

Whitney Beatty - Founder, CEO Josephine & Billies and The Apothecarry

Whitney Beatty is a woman of many talents. After leaving her career in entertainment, she founded Apothecarry, a luxury accessories company for the modern-day smoker. Then, inspired by the golden days of Jazz and cannabis Teapads, Beatty opened Josephine & Billies, the first dispensary in the country designed by and for women of color. Beatty secured the first equity investment from The Parent Company (TPCO), California's largest vertically integrated omnichannel cannabis platform, where Jay Z is the Chief Visionary. 

Beatty currently sits on the board of Supernova Women, an organization working for equity in the legal cannabis space. 

On top of it all, she is an inspiring and hilarious mother sharing her life on social media. Beatty is a powerhouse in every sense of the word, and the cannabis industry is better with her in it. 

 

The #RapPriestess, also known as the West Coast Wave Goddess 

Lizzy Jeff - Founder, Zen and Kush

We have admired, followed, and enjoyed the work of Lizzy Jeff for years. 

A cannabis OG, rap priestess, medicine woman, and founder of Zen and Kush, Lizzy Jeff delivers plant medicine, spirituality, and community in one erotically delectable serving. Her unique events nationwide feature healing, sensuality, community-building, education, and wellness workshops. These events aren't called an after-dark experience for no reason; this is Ascension at its finest and most seductive. 

Our bath bombs are often made to her music as it's commonly on repeat at Kush Queen headquarters. We are constantly inspired by her passion for activism and her celebration of the divine feminine. 

Give Lizzy Jeff a follow for alternative ways to heal that embraces masculine and feminine energies while connecting you deeper to your spiritual roots. 

 

Startup Advisor, Accountability Keeper, and Co-Founder in Cannabis, Tech, and Wellness

Mary Pryor - Activist, Writer, Founder Cannaclusive

Mary Pryor is one of the most powerful women in the cannabis industry. Pryor is an activist, media expert, and the founder of Cannaclusive, a platform created to facilitate fair representation of minority cannabis consumers. 

If you haven’t heard of Pryor’s work with Cannaclusive, then this is your intro. Cannaclusive is currently working to solve the industry's biggest issues: diversity, equity, and part of its namesake - inclusion. Her work with the Accountability List, a living breathing document that holds cannabis companies accountable, is some of the most important work currently taking place in cannabis. 

Pryor has appeared in and contributed to countless publications like Refinery 29, New York Times, and Instyle; her piece on diversity in cannabis for SELF is one of our personal favorites. 

 

The Ivy Leaguer and Former Athlete turned Cannabis Maven 

Nadir Pearson, a graduate of Brown University and founder of Student Marijuana Alliance for Research and Transparency, is one to watch in cannabis. A leader, advocate, and entrepreneur, he has worn many impressive hats in his young career. 

Inspired by sneakerhead culture, Pearson founded Get Hybrid, the cannabis industry’s first release date calendar where you can find new cannabis drops and product launches in one place. Pearson’s accomplishments have been featured in Forbes and Huff Post; he’s also a very talented writer himself. 

One thing we love about Pearson is that he thrives on creating educational cannabis content. He is certainly the future of the industry and we cannot wait to see what big things he does in the future. 

 

Award-winning Business Coach, Strategist, and Serial Entrepreneur

Sabrina Peterson - CEO & Founder Pretty High Co and Glam University

Sabrina Peterson dedicated herself and her businesses to be a powerhouse for female empowerment- socially and financially. 

Peterson turned facing a 23-year indictment into Pretty High Co, making CBD and cannabis products. She is a mother and content creator who is always making us laugh while feeling inspired. Peterson is undoubtingly a champion for women and people of color in cannabis. 

Late last year, Peterson invited Kush Queen out to a weekend cannabis educational workshop for women and we left oozing with excitement for how she brings opportunities, shares education, and keeps things transparent about the industry. 

 

It takes great courage and tenacity to go against the cannabis corporate machine. Through the community these amazing advocates continue to build, these inspirational cannabis professionals are aiding in creating visibility, changing the stigma, and opening doors for more BIPOC individuals to come.