Black, queer-owned brewery blames ‘white supremacy’ for shutdown
The venue was shut down less than 72 hours after celebrating Martin Luther King Day
A brewery claims ‘white supremacy’ forced it to shut down.
L.A. McCrae is the black queer woman who founded the brewery.
McCrae runs Black Star Line Brewing. They posted on Facebook 18 January explaining their Hendersonville venue would be closing.
Hendersonville is a city in North Carolina, a southern US state.
Black Star Line Brewing’s website describes themselves as the ‘first Black, family, & woman owned brewery in the Asheville, North Carolina area.’
Despite the increasing number of breweries in the area, they are ‘un-surprisingly and almost exclusive all white and mostly male owned and centered.’
The company aims to change that narrative and create spaces for ‘women, people of color, queer folks, and other folks with marginalized social identities.’
Black Star Line Brewing
A second post on 22 January explained ‘white supremacists policies’ forced the Hendersonville to shut down.
It read: ‘Less than 72 hrs after celebrating King Day with a group of radical POC queers and community members, #BSLB was shut down and police were called to a community space that centered healing and liberation for all people.
‘White loan officers called the police on a group of 8 POC Downtown Hendersonville.’
McCrae told Munchies: ‘White supremacy shut us down. Our world has been rocked.’
The brewery received racist and threatening emails in November. They also suffered multiple break ins.
McCrae explained the brewery was underfunded when it first launched six months ago.
People took to the company’s Facebook to express their outrage at the venue’s closure.
One person wrote: ‘I’m angered by the discrimination that is putting you out of business. In spite of the women’s march last Sunday, the fairness has not yet been realized.
‘My son is transgender, and I hurt for you and those who are being hurt by such behavior. I believe in your being able to reach success again.’
Black Star Line Brewings offered a ‘community space that centered healing and liberation for all people.’
Words by Charlie Mathers
Got a news tip? Want to share your story? Email us .
Originally published at www.gaystarnews.com on January 27, 2018.
