by Candice Richardson
Source: seattlemedium.com
African Americans and the hemp plant have a long history together. Often cannabis reform advocates bring up the fact that hemp was grown and harvested alongside cotton by slaves as a key textile resource for our country (the first American flag was made out of hemp and the first drafts of the United States' Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper). African Americans have also long carried the burden as targets of prohibition policies passed in our nation – none the worst being the current prohibition against marijuana.
In 2007 Dr. Jon Gettman, Ph.D wrote a report on the disparity of arrests between Blacks and Whites for possession of the drug, stating that “Blacks account for 12% of the population, 14% of annual marijuana users, and 31% of marijuana possession arrests. While these are national survey figures it is unlikely that local variances in the prevalence of marijuana use among Blacks and Whites account for the tremendous disparities in arrest rates.”
While this may not come as new news for those in the Black community in the Northwest, what may be surprising to some is that there is someone in Seattle who’s been incredibly vocal about these disparities and has organized an annual gathering dedicated to marijuana law reform as a social justice issue. His name is Vivian McPeak and he is the Executive Director of the Seattle Hempfest.
Many in town are aware of Hempfest, often viewed as a weekend where weed heads and hippies get a free pass to “smoke out” on city property. In fact, Hempfest seizes about 400 pounds of illegal baked goods every year and no sales are allowed. The festival’s website makes sure to mention that city, state and federal laws are still in effect during the three days it takes over Myrtle Edwards Park. According to McPeak, the constant vigilance also means that annually there are few to zero arrests. “It’s a political statement,” he says regarding the event he helped found in 1991.
Few are aware of the educational and legal forums that take place throughout the three day festival, or of the White man who works year round tirelessly advocating for the rights of terminally ill patients, first time offenders, and, yes, Blacks who’ve been unfairly targeted as a result of the “war on drugs.”
McPeak, the organizers and volunteers don't feel that non-violent people should be locked up as though they've committed violent crimes. This self-proclaimed ''Protestival'' states that it is all about reforming the legality of marijuana primarily as it pertains to social injustice. Hempfest includes appearances and speeches by lawyers and politicians such as attorney Jeffrey Steinborn who sits on the board of NORML and Congressman Dennis Kucinich. These are legalization advocates who are aware that it is often the poor, and disenfranchised who are most likely to be forever ''tagged'' as a drug user or pusher as they tend to lack the financial means to hire adequate legal representation for the same activities their White or more affluent counterparts engage in. This creates a downward spiral that is now including terminally ill patients who choose to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“African Americans are the primary victims of these policies” says McPeak who is of slight build with grayish brown dreadlocks tied in a ponytail down his back. “The entire prohibition movement has been drenched in racial inequality. Blacks are routinely scapegoated and selectively enforced and in the prison population they are 13 times more likely to be prosecuted than a white male of the same age. Prosecution in White neighborhoods is drastically lower than Blacks.”
McPeak is passionate and blunt when he speaks. His mind is an encyclopedia of facts, figures, and names. His manner is shrewd and his eyes are compassionate. Despite the ‘locks nothing in his demeanor says “stoner.” If anything he’s all business as he takes me on a tour of Hempfest’s new offices in Lake City and introduces me to volunteers working at computers and answering phones. Despite the civil rights issues at the heart of his work, I see no one of color in the Hempfest office. This is not a fact that is lost on McPeak.
“Hempfest hasn’t done a great job of reaching out to the Black community,” says McPeak. But, “we do work at getting people involved through culture programming like music.”
According to McPeak, in the 20 years the annual festival has been occurring, what started out as an almost exclusively white gathering has expanded into a broader racial demographic of attendees in the last five to 10 years. This is due to certain festival features like the diversity of musical performances on six different stages and what McPeak views as the overall growth of the movement.
“Hip Hop and cannabis has received similar treatment by the media,”McPeak states. “Both have been feared and used as scapegoats and Hip Hop is one of the ways Hempfest tries to reach out to communities of color.”
To be fair, inclusion in the movement is a two way street. The Black community at large has not been very vocal about the need for marijuana reform and with good reason some might say if you look back into our recent history. The crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and ‘90s that led to the explosion of gang violence and the fall of high profile figures like Marion Barry, still serve as painful reminders of a promising time in our culture that was decimated by drug addictions.
“I believe that communities of color are in a catch-22 when it comes to cannabis reform” says McPeak. “Many work hard to distance themselves and find it hard to get behind the movement.”
After 40 years of bloodshed and the exponential growth of Blacks in prisons, the NAACP finally called for an end to the “War on Drugs” in July 2011 with President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous stating that “these flawed drug policies that have been mostly enforced in African American communities must be stopped and replaced with evidenced-based practices that address the root causes of drug use and abuse in America.”
When asked if the war on drugs, and particularly the prohibition of marijuana, has been a tool for systematic and institutionalized racism, McPeak doesn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely! The book, The New Jim Crow, written by Michelle Alexander very accurately explains how these policies have been used to silence and suppress communities of color by locking up as many of them as possible.”
McPeak says Blacks in the justice system being charged with felony possessions result in the deliberate stripping away of constitutional rights making offenders unable to vote or obtain a career or education. He states that those prosecuted with felony drug possessions are no longer eligible for welfare, public housing, medical financial assistance or Pell grants. By comparison, these are rights and privileges convicted murderers still retain.
“There are valid concerns about the negative side of marijuana use,” said McPeak. “For some it has marginalized and demotivated and resulted in developing dependencies. Those are important issues that need to be equally addressed and are talked about at [Hempfest]. We need to be honest and we need to be comprehensive. That’s not happening with prohibition.”
What’s more, McPeak says it’s time to unify everyone who is negatively affected by the current policies as they stand.
“We need help to reach out to communities of color and we need a better connection than we have right now.”
Each year Hempfest assigns a theme that speaks to significant current topics and trends. This year’s theme? “Building Bridges.”
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