I’ve been downloading a lot of interviews lately by Brandi Miller, a writer, equity advocate, and minister, among many other things. On her podcast, Reclaiming My Theology, she begins every interview with a question that sounds simple, but gets complex answers: “How do you describe who you are?”
As humans, we can be many things: consistent or conflicting, led by personal or professional goals—there is no wrong answer to the question of how we construct our identity, both for ourselves and the world around us. And the way Brandi Miller leads into her conversations has impacted how I’m thinking about these Good Beer Hunting podcasts, and the people we talk to. That’s why, when you hear Latiesha Cook in just a few moments, we’re going to start by asking her that same question about describing herself. It’s one she’s been rightfully asking of the U.S. beer industry for the last few years.
As CEO and president of Beer Kulture, a nonprofit focused on equity and “changing the world one beer at a time,” Latiesha is an important voice, and offers a valuable point of view as a Black woman encouraging the very white, very male beer community to reassess and think about how it wants to describe itself. There are many social, cultural, and empathetic reasons to do this even before considering economic ones, like the business-focused idea of why it’s finally time to expand craft beer’s consumer base.
And the way Latiesha sees it, this movement and what she wants to accomplish with her team at Beer Kulture boils down to one, easy phrase: “Simply being human.”
So let’s turn it over to her, hear her story, and find out how she describes herself, and what she hopes to hear from the industry around her as it wrestles with the simple, powerful questions of what it is, and who it’s for.
This is Latiesha Cook of Beer Kulture. Listen in.