In February of each year, our nation honors Black History Month, and the observance felt especially poignant in 2021. The Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020 powerfully denounced systemic racism in police departments across the country. In November, Black Americans played a critical role in electing President Biden and Democratic members of Congress. While these events are of unquestionably historic proportions, Black History Month itself is not new. Black historian Carter G. Woodson and his colleagues created “Negro History Week” in 1926. To draw attention to their cause, they brilliantly scheduled it during the second week of February in concert with Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. In 1976, the observance became a month-long event to more fully honor Black heroes, culture, accomplishments, and ordinary Black Americans going about their lives. The Artist Tree Dispensary and Delivery in West Hollywood proudly supports the millions of people who make their voices heard in the fight for racial equality and justice.
To celebrate Black History Month and help Black artists, we contributed to the Black Art Futures Fund by donating a portion of the proceeds from every Artist Tree Pre-Roll we sold in February. The Black Art Futures Fund provides general operating support for small Black-led arts and culture nonprofits or fiscally-sponsored projects with an operating budget of $500,000 or less. Black Art Futures Fund recipients receive more than just a grant. They also receive business support, access to direct client services, and financial support from individual donors and small business donors. We encourage our customers to support the Fund directly, and we look forward to working with the Fund to showcase Black artists at our locations. To learn more about our support of Black Lives Matter and the role that art can play, read a story about it here.
Support Black Owned Businesses in West Hollywood and Los Angeles
While it’s imperative to honor Black History Month, we must not lose sight of the other 11 months of the year. We encourage people to support Black-owned businesses to help keep their doors open throughout greater Los Angeles. If you need fantastic pizza in West Hollywood (after an Artist Tree Pre-Roll), check out Chef Brandon Gray’s Brandoni Pepperoni. After years of toiling at some of Los Angeles’s buzziest kitchens, Brandon considered a career change. Then came COVID, and a friend asked Brandon to make him a pizza. He made three pies for his friend, and she told her friends. A few weeks later, chef, author, and KCRW radio host Evan Kleiman mentioned the pizzas on her show, and Brandoni Pepperoni took off.
Benjamin Mohapi knows great style and founded his Los Angeles-based BENJAMIN hair care brand in 2012. At his West Hollywood salon, Mohapi pursued a hairdressing approach that takes “an understated and inclusive approach to simple beauty.” For Benjamin, craftsmanship, quality, and personal service inspire “the design of achieving the exceptional.”
If you’re a member of a royal family who has a few thoughts on institutional and family racism, you might want to talk to Oprah Winfrey. Launched in early 2011 and now headquartered in West Hollywood, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is a major force in lifestyle television on cable and satellite systems. OWN’s productions emphasize unscripted programming, talk shows, and other programs focused on self-help and inspirational stories. OWN is just one example of why West Hollywood’s vibrancy and creativity are second to none. To us, it makes perfect sense that Oprah chose our wonderful city for her OWN.
We’re happy to provide a few links to Black-owned business directories for the greater Los Angeles area to help guide you. You can find Food Trucks, Restaurants, Business Directories, Guides, and even no-frills Spreadsheets with more information on Black-owned businesses close to you. Day in and day out, we’re humbled to serve our friends, neighbors, patients, and customers in West Hollywood.
Please take a look at our menu for our current selections and online ordering, or better yet, safely visit us in the store. The Artist Tree Dispensary and Delivery in West Hollywood, California, is open daily from 8:00 AM – 9:50 PM at 8625 Santa Monica Blvd. We hope to see you soon!
