Tokenism has been a part of my social life as far back as I can remember. I sought out relationships with white people as a symbol of success and worth because culturally I never felt or was accepted in my blackness. Ironically it has led me to find my passion in the global cannabis industry.
My parents were from Haiti, and I was born in Connecticut. When we moved to Georgia in 1996, not much changed in the environment; in fact, it became more segregated. I found myself aligning with white people and developing the role of the token black girl.
By sophomore year, I decided to throw my tokenism away to embrace blackness. I felt I was connecting with my blackness through smoke sessions and conversation with a group of my black peers. Though I still faced times where I felt outcasted, this felt more like home and marijuana became part of that.
Now, I am currently in the South of Spain, and the experience is not too different. I got here by trying to mix my love of travel with cannabis and decided Spanish cannabis culture was a great way to put it together. I was not surprised but disappointed by the lack of diversity not only in the marijuana culture here but also throughout society.
I had been to Spain before and knew that it was like most European countries, white (with a very prominent tan, left from the Moorish inquisition), but I committed myself to join a CSC or cannabis social club and to get into the Spanish cannabis culture. You do not have to buy weed illicitly here, though I did as first from squatters, it is available and should be purchased with caution (read here).
Another motivation during my stay here was going to Spannabis. I was excited to see one of the most significant European cannabis events. Again, it was very much homogenous and lacked diversity. The lack of diversity prompted me to realize the lack of representation of people of color and Black people had in the global industry.
The level of discrimination or racism, I have faced is minimal to those of from Senegal and the Congo. Why is this the case? First being my demeanor and that I was bold enough to walk into the private club that does not have many black members. That leads to the second reason, my complexion and ability to speak English at a native level eased some of the apprehension. Finally, my American passport! I hold an American passport by birth, and this was something I had to show to get a membership and almost immediately could see the change in the way they approached me. My passport also awards me the privilege of having a job and access to renting in better areas.
Despite my level of tokenism here, I am still faced with sexualization and criminalization by the locals. Smoking cannabis does not soften that image for a Black woman either. The need for representation is why I am working on building this company to connect not only black travels but cannabis users. I want to help them create an area to have a conversation that can be stimulated by travel and cannabis and to be able to share those experiences. I would like to expand into businesses and lobbying for African countries to enter the global market for marijuana like the West has been able to do.
I have used my time here in Spain to find a way to combine the things I love: CANNABIS, TRAVEL and BLACK PEOPLE. I hope to see Toking International become a brand that will help end stigmas placed on people of color that consume cannabis to forge their own on the global level.
Taking down tokenism, one toke at a time! Follow my travels on: YouTube: toking traveler and Instagram: toking_traveler_