Whitey Ford
09-01-2024, 01:54 AM
Dear Lordy. Wewuzzzz distillers.
A former slave taught Jack Daniel to make whiskey. Now his company is retreating from DEI.
25312
Fawn Weaver, founder of Black-owned spirits brand Uncle Nearest, has a message for Jack Daniel’s (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/04/02/black-distillers-push-for-industry-diversity/7064234001/) parent company, Brown-Forman, which announced last week that it is reversing course on its commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion: Take a page from the liquor baron who died in 1911. “Jack Daniel, the man, offers a model for the type of DEI we need today,” she said.
In the 1800s, a young Daniel was introduced to a formerly enslaved man named Nathan “Nearest” Green who had perfected the art of filtering whiskey through charcoal. Green taught Daniel how to distill whiskey, and together they built (https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/food-and-wine/2017/10/03/jack-daniels-distillery-cooperage/723372001/) one of the world’s iconic brands.
The parent company of Jack Daniel’s overlooked Green until Weaver – a bestselling author and businesswoman – set out to reclaim his forgotten legacy. By scouring historical archives and interviewing descendants, she pieced together scattered fragments of a distant past to reveal previously unknown details about an improbable partnership in the post-Civil War South.
In the process, she crafted a new chapter in her own legacy, establishing Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and, in June, publishing a bestseller chronicling the rise of Nearest (https://www.usatoday.com/booklist/books/love--whiskey-the-remarkable-true-story-of-jack-daniel-his-master-distiller-nearest-green-and-the-improbable-rise-of-uncle-nearest/9781595911346).
So when Brown-Forman said it would end workforce and supplier diversity goals and stop linking executive compensation to progress on DEI (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/08/28/dei-backlash-hits-ford/74982898007/), the interview requests poured in. Weaver responded Thursday in an op-ed for Time magazine (https://time.com/7015597/jack-daniel-dei-inclusive-workplace/).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/08/30/jack-daniels-dei-initiative-spirit-industry-impact/74999105007/#:~:text=In%20the%201800s%2C%20a%20young,of%20the% 20world's%20iconic%20brands.
A former slave taught Jack Daniel to make whiskey. Now his company is retreating from DEI.
25312
Fawn Weaver, founder of Black-owned spirits brand Uncle Nearest, has a message for Jack Daniel’s (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/04/02/black-distillers-push-for-industry-diversity/7064234001/) parent company, Brown-Forman, which announced last week that it is reversing course on its commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion: Take a page from the liquor baron who died in 1911. “Jack Daniel, the man, offers a model for the type of DEI we need today,” she said.
In the 1800s, a young Daniel was introduced to a formerly enslaved man named Nathan “Nearest” Green who had perfected the art of filtering whiskey through charcoal. Green taught Daniel how to distill whiskey, and together they built (https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/food-and-wine/2017/10/03/jack-daniels-distillery-cooperage/723372001/) one of the world’s iconic brands.
The parent company of Jack Daniel’s overlooked Green until Weaver – a bestselling author and businesswoman – set out to reclaim his forgotten legacy. By scouring historical archives and interviewing descendants, she pieced together scattered fragments of a distant past to reveal previously unknown details about an improbable partnership in the post-Civil War South.
In the process, she crafted a new chapter in her own legacy, establishing Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and, in June, publishing a bestseller chronicling the rise of Nearest (https://www.usatoday.com/booklist/books/love--whiskey-the-remarkable-true-story-of-jack-daniel-his-master-distiller-nearest-green-and-the-improbable-rise-of-uncle-nearest/9781595911346).
So when Brown-Forman said it would end workforce and supplier diversity goals and stop linking executive compensation to progress on DEI (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/08/28/dei-backlash-hits-ford/74982898007/), the interview requests poured in. Weaver responded Thursday in an op-ed for Time magazine (https://time.com/7015597/jack-daniel-dei-inclusive-workplace/).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/08/30/jack-daniels-dei-initiative-spirit-industry-impact/74999105007/#:~:text=In%20the%201800s%2C%20a%20young,of%20the% 20world's%20iconic%20brands.