“Diversity, equity and inclusivity. I hate those words together. That’s a program, that’s a seminar for 30 minutes you get from your corporation,” said Ikimi Dubose-Woodson, 42. She’s executive director of The Roots Fund, TRF, a nonprofit whose mission is to help Black, indigenous and people of color and other underrepresented people enter or rise in the wine industry, and soon, the spirits industry. It provides financial support, wine and business education, mentoring and job placement. “I want to work with people who want to work, not have meetings, and I want to do real work and create real change and that’s the only thing I want to talk about. While I’m doing this for my people, the education and awareness piece is for everyone.”
tahiirah habibi
July 12, 2024
Black Wine Businesses Are Cultivating Their Communities "Over the past two years, we and others have written a great deal about the wine industry finally embracing diversity. Hanging over that, however, has been an uncomfortable question: Is this real, or is it just talk?" Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher
"After we began absorbing the guilty verdicts delivered to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, one thing became clear to us: People cannot step back from working for racial and social justice, equality, and inclusion."
November 06, 2020"Right now, they appear like small lights flickering in the darkness, but they are out there, signs of progress in the making of a more inclusive and healthier wine culture in this country." Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher
July 02, 2020"In the 1970s, sommeliers at many fine restaurants were White French men, or at least White males who pretended to be French. With tastevins around their necks, their job was to make customers feel stupid, spend more than they planned and drink French wine."
