#NNPA BlackPress
Haymarket’s Brew Day with Jay West and Sam Ross A Conversation about Industry’s Lack of Diversity, a New Ale and a special Brew in honor of the Chicago Defender.
THE CHICAGO DEFENDER — Harold’s ’83 Honey Ale will be available at Haymarket Pub & Brewery. Haymarket offers a variety of innovative house ales and lagers, including an award-winning stout, to honor the historic African American publication, the Chicago Defender newspaper. “We named the beer to pay homage to this long-standing circular,” says Haymarket Head Brewer Pete Crowley. “Most of our beer names are of historical significance to Chicago…” Stay tuned for more details about the release of Sam Ross’s and Jay West’s Harold’s ’83 Honey Ale. Haymarket Pub and Brewery is located at 737 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, 60661.
By Kelly Washington, The Chicago Defender
Chicago and the country have experienced an enormous craft beer boom in recent years. Although craft brewing is a booming industry, with diverse offerings in classic lagers and ales, there is a stunning lack of diversity as it pertains to African-Americans in the brewing industry. The Brewers Association put out a benchmarking survey in 2018 on brewery owners and employee diversity. This survey showed that only 1% of independent breweries in the U.S. were owned by Blacks or African Americans. In addition, less than 1% of brewers in the U.S. were Black or African American. Jay West and Sam Ross approached Haymarket Pub & Brewery to create a beer that would help to raise awareness of the lack of diversity in the brewing industry and begin a conversation about diversity in the craft beer community.
Kelly Washington (KW) – Tell me more about your project.
Jay West (JW) – When I was approached with this project, I knew Sam Ross was the one to join me in this journey. It is a shared dream that we did not realize was a shared dream at the time. We wanted this beer to be very Chicago. We also knew how much African Americans consumed beer, however, from the manufacturing to the selling; we are not represented in this industry.
Sam Ross (SR) – The style of beer that we are making is not very common. I wanted us to stand out. We wanted this to be a solid beer for solid beer drinkers of all kinds. We wanted our brand to be unapologetically Midwest and unapologetically urban.
KW: You said you want your beer to be “very Chicago.” Tell me more about your ale, and where the ingredients are being sourced from.
SR: It is going to be a honey ale! Not many Chicago breweries are working with honey. Working with that ingredient is another whole process. We wanted locally sourced honey. We reached out to Sweet Beginnings, a company in North Lawndale, which produces a line of all natural, raw honey products. Sweet Beginnings is a company that has turned an undevelopable plot of land near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport into a thriving business by employing many former convicts, a segment of the population that often faces significant barriers to employment.
JW: We want to keep our beer local and, at the same time, give back to the community and help those that are ignored and underserved. We also want to educate them on this industry.
KW: The Brewer’s Association benchmarking survey suggests that African Americans own less than 1% of independent breweries. What do you see as the issue, and what can companies do to increase the visibility of more African American workers in this industry?
SR: This industry blew up in 2015! No one was prepared to start training brewers. Assistant brewers became brewers, and brewers became brew owners. Breweries are hiring like crazy, but 80% of those jobs are rarely posted due to nepotism. This industry is heavy on that practice. It also takes a lot of money to learn how to brew, so that is another barrier for African Americans. The guys at Haymarket taking time to show us this process means everything. The industry needs to take chances. Take a calculated risk.
KW: How do you two plan to use your new roles to improve the industry?
JW: I will use my platform to reach out to other people of color and educate them on this industry, and bring them on this journey. Some people took chances on me, and I want to pay that forward. This is the first time Sam is hearing this, but the education he bestowed upon me is profound. I am a better person, a better brewer, and a better conveyor of what this game can bring to the community.
SR: The best way for me is to use my role is by utilizing social media. That is how I will get our message across. I have a blog called “The Brother at the Bar.” I want us to connect through our love and knowledge of beer. Social media is an excellent vessel for that. I am in love with the craft beer world, and I want people who look like me to love it and have a great experience as well.
KW: Drumroll!!! What is the name of your ale?
JW: The name of the beer is Harold’s ’83 Honey. The name itself is paying homage to the first Black mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington. We are also tipping our hats to another Chicago institution, Harold’s Chicken. That is what we mean when we say we want our brand to be unapologetically Chicago and urban. Clearly, we want to highlight the lack of diversity, the best way to do that is to get someone’s attention, and that is what the name does. It says Chicago. It says Black Chicago.
SR: The number ‘83 is the year he (Harold Washington) became mayor. Harold’s Chicken is in Atlanta now, and that is another one of the ways we can expand our reach. We want our consumers to drink Harold’s ‘83 Honey Ale with their order of chicken, with mild sauce!
KW: That sounds like a delicious pairing!
JW: It is also an attention grabber. We want you to open a dialogue on why there is a steep lack of diversity in this game. We want you to have a beer, but we want you to have a conversation. The more that we have conversations like this, the more we can progress together.
KW: Where will you be marketing and selling Harold’s ‘83 Honey Ale?
JW: There are nine African American owned places with liquor licenses in this vast city. That is another issue within itself. I doubt that any of them will refuse this beer because it is going to be amazing! We will enlist them to help us get the word out about our ale and awareness about the lack of diversity in the brewing industry.
SR: Just being able to have our beer at an established place such as Haymarket is great. People travel from all over to come and see this place. People will come from all over to have a good beer.
Harold’s ’83 Honey Ale will be available at Haymarket Pub & Brewery. Haymarket offers a variety of innovative house ales and lagers, including an award-winning stout, to honor the historic African American publication, the Chicago Defender newspaper. “We named the beer to pay homage to this long-standing circular,” says Haymarket Head Brewer Pete Crowley. “Most of our beer names are of historical significance to Chicago…” Stay tuned for more details about the release of Sam Ross’s and Jay West’s Harold’s ’83 Honey Ale. Haymarket Pub and Brewery is located at 737 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, 60661.
The post Haymarket’s Brew Day with Jay West and Sam Ross A Conversation about Industry’s Lack of Diversity, a New Ale and a special Brew in honor of the Chicago Defender. appeared first on Chicago Defender.
#NNPA BlackPress
Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

By Lauren Burke
By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.
The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.
“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.
“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

#NNPA BlackPress
Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.
“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”
Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”
A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.
Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oak Temple Hill Hosts Interfaith Leaders from Across the Bay Area
-
Alameda County4 weeks ago
Council Approves Budget to Invest in Core City Services, Save Fire Stations, Invest in Economic Development
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of June 11 – 17, 2025
-
Activism4 weeks ago
LA to the Bay: Thousands Protest in Mission District Against Immigration Raids, Travel Bans
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Over 500 Join Interfaith Rally in Solidarity with Los Angeles Resistance to Trump Invasion
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Congress Says Yes to Rep. Simon’s Disability Hiring and Small Biz Support Bill
-
Activism4 weeks ago
The Case Against Probate: False Ruling Invalidates Black Professor’s Estate Plan, Ignoring 28-Year Relationship
-
Activism3 weeks ago
OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark