Our country is having an important conversation about race and privilege, and it's made many of us think more deeply about the ways in which the craft chocolate industry contributes to that larger ecosystem. So let's talk about it!
Each week for the next three weeks, I'll lead an online panel event focused on a different aspect of the same topic. The first panel celebrates the few Black bean-to-bar makers in the U.S. They'll tell us the stories of starting their companies and all about the chocolate they make. I'll be joined by Good Girl, Island Sharks, Jinji, Noir d’Ebene, Sol Cacao, SPAGnVOLA (here's Crisoire being badass in action, by the way), and Willie Coca.
The second panel will feature voices from many different backgrounds and will delve into why the craft chocolate industry (both makers and consumers) is so overwhelmingly, uniformly white.
The third panel will be a panel of industry voices that I'm calling the accountability panel, designed to produce action items for companies to change our industry for the better.
Second and third panel members will be announced closer to the dates of events. Have someone you think would be great to include? Email me at megan@chocolatenoise.com.
Attendance is free, with a suggested donation of $10 for each event to the NAACP, Family Focus Evanston (where Noir d'Ebene's kitchen is located), and The Okra Project.
Hope to see you there!
(Thank you to SPAGnVOLA for the awesome photo, and to so many people for helping me brainstorm this series, including Lauren Heineck, Emily Stone, William Mullan, Kristy Leissle, Shannon Journey, and more!)