A few months ago I received a message from Andrew of Fine Balance Brewing Company asking if I would want to work on a collaboration with him. He likes the work I’ve been doing to amplify local Black-owned businesses and was wondering if I would want to participate in one of their quarterly collaborations with a portion of the proceeds going back to a local non-profit which I would get to choose. I was so humbled by this message and eager to work with Andrew!

If you’re new here, I will give a bit of context about the Black-owned business list. In 2020, the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, I shared about my personal experiences growing up in Kingston as a Black kid and teenager. That blog post got a lot of attention and I decided to shift the focus away from myself and onto something actionable and important. I started a Black-owned business list for folks looking for ways to address a global issue locally. It gave a platform for businesses that might not get as much traction locally and also for Black folks across the diaspora to easily find more of their culture in our community.

Continue reading →