Speaking Up for Change

As we’ve watched outrage and protests develop in response to George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, we felt it was imperative to speak up. Our founder and owner Karen Hoskin originally made this statement on Facebook in June 2020:

As the owner and founder of Montanya Distillers, I witness with a very heavy heart the deep turmoil and upheaval in our country right now. I can't be silent on where I stand as a human being, a business owner and an American.

There are some things I believe:

• When race protest hurts, it is probably working better than when it doesn't. Those who reject extreme civil rights action probably occupy a privileged place in society and are most likely part of the problem. It is their foundation that is being challenged - they will object.

• There are many amazing law enforcement officers in this country. Actions like those of Derek Chauvin do not represent them all. But we have turned a blind eye for too long to repeated similar incidents. I believe George Floyd's death was a lynching by one of the institutions we must be able to trust. This institution must do better.

• I can't wrap my head around all the ways in which black people in America modify their behavior every day just to survive. As a white woman with a college education, I have deep privileges that my black counterparts do not enjoy even when they work hard and prosper. I will stand for their equality and examine my every action to be sure it is consistent with my words.

• I am ready for radical change. It will not be comfortable, it will not be easy, it will take all of our hearts to support it when we'd rather have peace, but it cannot be done without white support from every part of society. We must dismantle and rebuild the system that keeps people of color from achieving their full and equal potential.

• Civil unrest and collective action are part of what has moved our country forward from the Civil War to Civil Rights to the Vietnam War to Women's Liberation to Gay Rights. I am grateful to live in a country where this has been possible. I do not support escalation by white supremacists, the military or riot police. I support peaceful protest first but recognize it doesn't always achieve the results we need.

• I have always believed that we can incrementally become a better country with a better social fabric on many levels. I am an optimist that we can emerge fundamentally shifted in a positive way.

• While it is hard to walk the walk from my privileged and sheltered place in the mountains of Colorado, I will send my money and support, and give my time, in as many directions as I personally can. I hope you will too.
  

~ Karen Hoskin, Founder/Owner of Montanya Distillers