Commonalities Blog

So many things have transpired in the world within the last couple of months. We are still deep in the middle of a global pandemic (COVID – 19) as well as a pandemic that has plagued our country for hundreds of years… RACISM!

It is crazy to think that here we are in 2020 and we are STILL marching, protesting, painting and renaming streets, toppling statues of racist figures, and banning confederate flags… all in the name of eradicating racism.

Many of us watched in horror and disbelief as an unarmed black man took his last breaths at the knee of a white police officer. George Floyd is the name that most people think of right away, but there are countless others, some named and others who’s names haven’t been mentioned that have suffered the same fate at the hands of someone who saw them (unarmed, handcuffed, on the ground) as threat.

The world watched in disbelief, some as if their eyes were newly opened and the blindfolds finally removed to see the injustice Black, Brown, and Indigenous People of Color have been literally dying to make them see for centuries. Better late than never…

I am thankful to work for an organization that not only says they believe that Black Lives Matter in carefully crafted statements, but truly believes this to its core. The lives of disenfranchised peoples in Madison, is our top priority and our programming and actions speak to this.

I am also proud to work with small business entrepreneurs who are not afraid to speak up against injustice. Giant Jones Brewing, [Bayk] Madison, and Jenie Gao Studios have created special products and are donating or did donate the proceeds of these sales to Freedom Inc. a local organization dedicated to achieving social justice.

In June [Bayk] Madison answered Bakers Against Racism’s call to raise $1.3M as a collective. Locally [Bayk] Madison raised $500 to donate to Freedom Inc.

Jenie Gao took three days in June to donate the proceeds of her collaborative artwork to Freedom Inc. and Free the 350 Bail Fund in the sum of almost $3,000. She also continues to speak out about racial injustice.

Currently Giant Jones Brewery has partnered with other breweries in the state to distribute the Black Is Beautiful Double Stout. The proceeds of this sale will also benefit Freedom Inc. Black Is Beautiful can be found on their website at the following link: https://giant-jones-brewing.square.site/.

Although I have only highlighted these three businesses for this article, I know that many of our other businesses are working diligently to blot out racism within the food community, by committing to including businesses of color in their collaborations.

As a Black woman, I am hopeful that positive change and growth are on the horizon and I know with allies that truly believe in and have a strong desire to do the work needed to create that change…it will come.

To learn more about the organizations and the business mentioned, please visit:

https://freedom-inc.org/

https://freethe350bailfund.wordpress.com/

https://jenie.org/

https://baykmadison.com/

http://giantjones.com/