Intrinsic Smokehouse & Brewery recently celebrated a partnership that netted $7,000 in funds raised for the Garland Unit of the NAACP.
The foundation was laid when Weathered Souls Brewing Company in San Antonio challenged other breweries to join them in brewing “Black is Beautiful” beer then presenting the proceeds to a local organization that:
*Supports police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged
*Supports equality and inclusion
*Commits to the long-term work of equality
Intrinsic owner, Cary Hodson, explained that they wanted to do something close to home so they chose to focus on racial injustice in areas such as education.
“The Garland NAACP has a great reputation and it seemed like a good fit for us,” he said.
Weathered Souls Brewing provided the basic recipe and each brewery produced their own unique take on that recipe. There are more than 1,000 participating breweries in every state in the U.S. as well as in more than 20 countries. Intrinsic made a maple vanilla version of the recipe.
“This is not something just I’m doing,” Hodson said. “It’s something the whole community was able to do. Yes, we made the product and donated our time and ingredients, but at the end of the day, the community purchased it knowing what it was for.”
Gwen Daniels, who works with corporate sponsorships and community business partnerships with the NAACP Garland Unit, is excited about the partnership with Intrinsic.
“I was so elated when I learned about the friend request that led to this partnership that’s about to occur right here at the square in downtown Garland with a local business owner,” she said. “I hope this develops into a long-lasting relationship, something that will not only help the NAACP but help build up clientele for Intrinsic.
Hodson said that he will be checking with Weathered Souls Brewing to see if they plan to continue with the concept because he’d like for it to become an annual event.
Christopher Balanciere, who helped connect Hodson and the Garland NAACP, appreciates everything that Intrinsic does throughout the community.
“They reached out to me and asked me to help them figure out what would be a great fit for this donation,” he said. “I have this relationship with Ms. Annie Dickson, vice president of the Garland Unit, so I reached out to her about what kind of initiatives the NAACP has since the production of the Black Is Beautiful beer addresses inequity in our society.”
Dickson said that part of the money will be used to help fund the Garland NAACP’s Legal Redress Symposium.
“The symposium is open to everyone. We have had participation from county judges, lawyers, district attorneys, police chiefs and others,” she said. “Basically, what happens is, these people are on a panel and they talk to citizens about their rights and answer their questions.”
Dickson added that when people have knowledge and they are informed, they know their rights and do better and said that lots of people have been helped with various types of legal questions.
She explained that the NAACP gets calls for help from people of all colors.
“The name is National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,” she said. “Everybody has a color so everyone is included.
The Garland Unit is involved in a variety of activities to help educate the community on race-related issues and is always working to do more.
In addition to the symposium, they hold a quarterly meeting where representatives from the NAACP, GAHFA, LULAC and the Asian community visit with the city manager, police chief, fire department and other city officials to check the pulse of what’s going on in the community. They’re currently working to get the Muslim and Ethiopian communities involved as well.