I can’t rejoin you today as usual, sharing cocktail content with a frothy story. I have included a recipe herein but I need to first acknowledge the events of the last three weeks. The killing of George Floyd has been the catalyst for an impassioned, global cry for an end to police brutality, an end to systemic racism, and an end to white supremacy.
The past few days, in particular, have been an incredible testament to the strength of Black voices (both physical and digital) throughout North America and beyond and the willingness of many non-Black people to serve as allies. The road to anti-racism is long, and these systems of oppression will not be undone in a day, but already the power of protesting, petitioning, fundraising, contacting policy-makers, is affecting change.
On Sunday, nine members of the Minneapolis City Council announced their intent to defund and dismantle the city’s police department after the killing of George Floyd.
Brands and public figures are being similarly held to account. On Monday, Adam Rapoport, who served as Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appetit for 10 years, submitted his resignation just hours after a 2003 photo of him wearing brown face surfaced online. After seeing the photo, chef and assistant editor Sohla El-Waylly shared on her Instagram story, “this is just a symptom of the systematic racism that runs rampant within Conde Nast as a whole.”
El-Waylly and other current and past Bon Appetit staff members outlined their experiences with racism at the publication, including major disparities in title and pay between BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) and their white coworkers. Notably, El-Waylly shared that she nor any of other people of colour have been compensated for their appearances on Bon Appetit’s wildly popular video series.
Real change is afoot but I know this is just the beginning. The work must start within. A more conscious effort to acknowledge my own white privilege, the ways in which systemic racism has and continues to benefit me, and challenging my own assumptions and biases.
I am committed to continuing to use my platform to share the work of Black creators, doing more to support Black-owned businesses, demanding meaningful diversity, inclusion and equitable pay for BIPOC from the brands I buy from (like Bon Appetit), signing petitions, donating, and doing the quiet work of listening, learning, and reflecting.
I hope you are or will similarly commit yourself to action and growth. If you are, I am raising a glass to you.
Elderflower Rosé French 75
- 1½ oz gin
- ½ oz St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- ½ oz lemon juice
- 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
- 2 oz sparkling rosé
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Shake all ingredients, except sparkling wine, over ice. Strain into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling rosé and garnish with a lemon twist.
Very well spoken. We will join you.