Railyard Apothecary's statement on racial justice
June 15th, 2020
Railyard Apothecary wants to re-affirm our commitment to the movement for racial justice, as currently manifesting as a nationwide uprising in response to the tragic police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, only the most recent and most blatant examples of a very long history of racism and white supremacy.
This history we are confronting is deep, going back to slavery and colonization, through the Jim Crow era and continuing to present-day mass incarceration. We know that for all the progressive values in Vermont (Abenaki territory), racism has and continues to play out here. Here just as much as anywhere else there is so much further to go to eliminate racism.
We also recognize that while we are focused right now on racism as related to the experiences of black people, we know that indigenous people and other people of color also are deeply affected. We also recognize that there are many other forms of oppression that our community experiences, and that individuals, communities and the earth itself can never be fully free, healed and whole unless we all are.
With that in mind, our organization that currently is owned and staff by white people offers these thoughts and resources in the spirit of solidarity, so that we and all of our community can have the future that we dream for.
Our support for black people in our community
We offer our support for black people in our community on their personal journey to health and wellness by:
1) Making herbs and classes available for free, and consultations at a reduced rate, available through our herbal justice fund. To access these herb and consultation offerings, contact us and mention the herbal justice fund or fill out this form. For classes, simply e-mail [email protected] about your desire to attend a class. We are grateful to the many community members who have contributed to this fund.
2) Offering space for black vendors to sell their products - contact [email protected].
3) Prioritizing black people and other people of color when selecting people for our staff and our internship programs. Contact [email protected].
We see these offerings a small part of the work of reparations for the harm that has been done on these lands, both presently and in the past.
Ways white people in our community can support black people in our community
For the white people in our community, we strongly encourage you to support black individuals, organizations and causes at this time. Some suggestions:
How to get involved in anti-racism work locally
We also are encouraging people in our community to get involved in the causes that black people are fighting for right now. In Burlington, the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance is leading efforts directed toward transformationg the nature of policing in this city. You can read the open letter here and can find current info on how to get involved on their Facebook page, or try checking the Facebook page for the Peace and Justice Center.
For info in general, you can find out about upcoming events and actions through the links on the "organizational funding" section above or by following these organizations on Facebook:
Learn about anti-racism
Lastly, we are encouraging white people to educate themselves and their friends and family members about race, racism, and white supremacy, here are a few resources you could check out:
Herbal justice
We'd like to put this all more in the context of "herbal justice." Railyard Apothecary's mission is to nurture individual, social, and ecological health through herbal medicine. For us, a key part of that has always been what we and others call "herbal justice."
Herbal Justice is a term used to describe the interconnected nature of herbalism and social and environmental justice. The health and healing of every individual is dependent on the health and healing of our society and the earth itself - and in many cases, an underlying philosophy of white supremacy is part of what drives the devaluation of people, communities, ecologies and the planet. The consequences have been dramatic, and disproportionately affect black, brown, and indigenous people across the world and here at home.
You can read more about our herbal justice program to learn more about how we see the connections between social justice and health, and to learn about other ways we're working to correct societal injustices.
To read more about the links between social, racial, and environmental justice, see:
Our internal work
We worker-owners of Railyard Apothecary know that we have a long way to go individually, as an organization, as a community and as a country toward eliminating racism. As mentioned, the current staff and worker-owners of Railyard Apothecary are white. We recognize that our white identity carries privilege and that our own personal stories are interwoven in the stories of racism and oppression in the U.S. and Vermont.
As one part of our internal work, worker-owners are currently individually working through Me and White Supremacy, a book and workbook by Layla Saad to better understand racism in ourselves and in our work.
We are also seeking to further educate ourselves and others about the history of African herbal wisdom and "Western herbalism." We know that some of the herbs we use often either are grown in Africa or their uses have come down to us from African cultures. Like so many other examples of exploitation and cultural appropriation in herbalism, much of this history has been forgotten or erased, and we seek to do our part to correct this historic problem.
Please let us know if you have any thoughts and feedback and how we can better do this work.
Love and solidarity,
Staff and worker-owners of Railyard Apothecary
Railyard Apothecary wants to re-affirm our commitment to the movement for racial justice, as currently manifesting as a nationwide uprising in response to the tragic police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, only the most recent and most blatant examples of a very long history of racism and white supremacy.
This history we are confronting is deep, going back to slavery and colonization, through the Jim Crow era and continuing to present-day mass incarceration. We know that for all the progressive values in Vermont (Abenaki territory), racism has and continues to play out here. Here just as much as anywhere else there is so much further to go to eliminate racism.
We also recognize that while we are focused right now on racism as related to the experiences of black people, we know that indigenous people and other people of color also are deeply affected. We also recognize that there are many other forms of oppression that our community experiences, and that individuals, communities and the earth itself can never be fully free, healed and whole unless we all are.
With that in mind, our organization that currently is owned and staff by white people offers these thoughts and resources in the spirit of solidarity, so that we and all of our community can have the future that we dream for.
Our support for black people in our community
We offer our support for black people in our community on their personal journey to health and wellness by:
1) Making herbs and classes available for free, and consultations at a reduced rate, available through our herbal justice fund. To access these herb and consultation offerings, contact us and mention the herbal justice fund or fill out this form. For classes, simply e-mail [email protected] about your desire to attend a class. We are grateful to the many community members who have contributed to this fund.
2) Offering space for black vendors to sell their products - contact [email protected].
3) Prioritizing black people and other people of color when selecting people for our staff and our internship programs. Contact [email protected].
We see these offerings a small part of the work of reparations for the harm that has been done on these lands, both presently and in the past.
Ways white people in our community can support black people in our community
For the white people in our community, we strongly encourage you to support black individuals, organizations and causes at this time. Some suggestions:
- Individual funding:
- Black individuals are asking for personal financial support, and you can find more info here: "Wealth (re)distribution for black people in Vermont."
- BIPOC Land and Food Sovereignty Fund - seeking to purchase land for black and brown farmers in VT
- BIPOC Urban Farm and Wholeness Center in Winooski- currently running a Go Fund Me to raise start up capital
- Organizational funding - there are many local organizations at the forefront of the work in our community, including:
- Support black-owned businesses and non-profit organizations, such as the following Burlington-area businesses and organizations:
- Conscious Homestead Apothecary - herbs, yoga, more, based in Winooski
- Mawuhi African Market - food and health store, 160 North Winooski Avenue
- Kismayo Kitchen - restaurant at 505 Riverside Ave.
- Zafa Wines - winery at 266 Pine Street, Suite 122
- Jamaican Supreme - food truck on Lime Kiln Rd, South Burlington
- Clemmons Family Farm - historic farm in Charlotte
How to get involved in anti-racism work locally
We also are encouraging people in our community to get involved in the causes that black people are fighting for right now. In Burlington, the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance is leading efforts directed toward transformationg the nature of policing in this city. You can read the open letter here and can find current info on how to get involved on their Facebook page, or try checking the Facebook page for the Peace and Justice Center.
For info in general, you can find out about upcoming events and actions through the links on the "organizational funding" section above or by following these organizations on Facebook:
- Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington
- Black Lives Matter VT
- Justice For All
- Vermont Racial Justice Alliance
- Vermont Poor People's Campaign: National Call For Moral Revival
- Champlain Area NAACP
- Peace and Justice Center
Learn about anti-racism
Lastly, we are encouraging white people to educate themselves and their friends and family members about race, racism, and white supremacy, here are a few resources you could check out:
- Scaffolded Anti-racism resources
- Anti-racism resources for white people
- 70+ Race Resources for White People
Herbal justice
We'd like to put this all more in the context of "herbal justice." Railyard Apothecary's mission is to nurture individual, social, and ecological health through herbal medicine. For us, a key part of that has always been what we and others call "herbal justice."
Herbal Justice is a term used to describe the interconnected nature of herbalism and social and environmental justice. The health and healing of every individual is dependent on the health and healing of our society and the earth itself - and in many cases, an underlying philosophy of white supremacy is part of what drives the devaluation of people, communities, ecologies and the planet. The consequences have been dramatic, and disproportionately affect black, brown, and indigenous people across the world and here at home.
You can read more about our herbal justice program to learn more about how we see the connections between social justice and health, and to learn about other ways we're working to correct societal injustices.
To read more about the links between social, racial, and environmental justice, see:
- 350PDX's resource page on environmental justice and white supremacy
- "Racism is killing the planet"
- "Read Up on the Links Between Racism and the Environment"
- Race and Nature resources
Our internal work
We worker-owners of Railyard Apothecary know that we have a long way to go individually, as an organization, as a community and as a country toward eliminating racism. As mentioned, the current staff and worker-owners of Railyard Apothecary are white. We recognize that our white identity carries privilege and that our own personal stories are interwoven in the stories of racism and oppression in the U.S. and Vermont.
As one part of our internal work, worker-owners are currently individually working through Me and White Supremacy, a book and workbook by Layla Saad to better understand racism in ourselves and in our work.
We are also seeking to further educate ourselves and others about the history of African herbal wisdom and "Western herbalism." We know that some of the herbs we use often either are grown in Africa or their uses have come down to us from African cultures. Like so many other examples of exploitation and cultural appropriation in herbalism, much of this history has been forgotten or erased, and we seek to do our part to correct this historic problem.
Please let us know if you have any thoughts and feedback and how we can better do this work.
Love and solidarity,
Staff and worker-owners of Railyard Apothecary
