Social Responsibility
Black is Beautiful
Back Channel was proud to participate in Black is Beautiful, a special beer brewed collaboratively throughout the brewing community nationally, with the goal of raising funds and awareness about the issue of police brutality and the way it affects black and brown members of our community. United under the same label, all participating breweries committed to contributing 100% of their profits from Black is Beautiful, selecting local organizations that work toward equality and inclusion to benefit from the profits, and commit ourselves to long-term work toward equality.
We selected several local organizations that are working toward equality and improving our community, especially in the East Lake area of Minneapolis.
+ We Love Lake Street Fund
https://www.welovelakestreet.com/
Make a donation to help rebuild Lake Street’s small businesses and community organizations.
The Lake Street Council (501c3) will donate 100% of funds to help rebuild Lake Street, starting with direct support to small businesses and nonprofits to help them rebuild their storefronts, reopen their businesses and serve our neighborhoods.
Donate via PayPal or Credit Card. Or if you prefer, donate through: GiveMN.org
You can also write a check to the Lake Street Council and send it to 919 E Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55407.
However, please note that local mail service in our area has stopped for now and we may not receive your donation for some time.
For more information and updates please follow us on at @VisitLakeStreet. For press inquiries please email: press@lakestreetcouncil.org For donation inquires please email: donate@lakestreetcouncil.org
+ Philando Castile Relief Foundation
http://www.philandocastilefoundation.org/
WHAT WE DO The Philando Castile Relief Foundation was established to help victims who have been affected by gun violence and police violence.
Our goal and our mission is to lend a helping hand to those in their time of need and also to add a little relief during your time of grief.
We also help the St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN school districts pay off negative school lunch balances. The Philando Castile Relief Foundation was created right after the death of Valerie Castile's son, Philando Castile. We are a 501c3 Minnesota nonprofit corporation. The purpose of the Philando Castile Relief Fund (PCRF) is to provide immediate assistance to parents who are experiencing loss of a loved one from gun violence. It is during the first moments of experiencing such a tragic loss that parents and families may feel helpless and overwhelmed as they attempt to meet their immediate needs. Philando’s mother and family wanted to be intentional about offering assistance to those during such a time. The Foundation is to continue Philandos' legacy of his caring, loving nature. He was the supervisor of the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori School where he took his job very seriously. He knew each child by name, their allergies and pin number. He was known for paying for their meals out of his own pocket. He knew how important the first meal of the day is for a child. That's why it's so important that we carry on his legacy by helping families pay the negative lunch balances in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our vision is that The Philando Castile Feeds The Children campaign expands nationally, maybe globally.
We offer assistance for:
- Meal preparation
- Funeral attire
- Resources for grief counseling and other outlets
To apply for relief from our foundation, click here.
+ Black Visions Collective
https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
WHO WE ARE - Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.
OUR VISION - Healing Justice and Transformative Justice at the Center As an organization dedicated to Black liberation and to collective liberation, we need a radical and ongoing investment in our own healing. By claiming love for our own bodies, our own psyches, our own experiences, and by building the resources we need to integrate healing justice into all that we do, we are insisting on conditions that can carry us towards the next generation of work, and towards a deeper place of freedom for all of us.
Powerful Campaigns - BLVC is committed to a long term vision in which ALL Black lives not only matter, but are able to thrive. What we know to be true in order to create this world is that oppressed people, especially Black people, need to build collective power in order to create systems transformation. Through the development of powerful strategic campaigns, we seek to expand the power of Black people across the Twin Cities metro area and Minnesota. This can look like delivering mobilization and action goals as part of a national coalition in which Black lives are centered, but it most often looks like visioning and leading targeted collaborative local campaigns that advance a concrete impact for people’s lives here, while also advancing a shift in public narrative that connects to transformative long-term change.
+ Midtown Global Market Mend
https://www.gofundme.com/f/midtown-global-market **East Lake Brewing is located at Midtown Global Market
Nomin Angarag is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Friends of Global Market, Inc.. Donations are 100% tax deductible. Created 2 days ago
The Midtown Global Market, along with many businesses along Lake Street, need your support to rebuild and heal our neighborhood.
All donations will go directly to help repair the damage and to help rebuild our small businesses throughout our community.
Midtown Global Market is a vibrant economic and cultural center where communities gather. We are home to 45 small businesses representing 16 cultures, ethnicities, or countries of origin. As a global community, we are deeply saddened by the injustice of the death of George Floyd.
You can also write a check to Friends of Global Market, a 501c3, and send it to:
Friends of Midtown Global Market 920 East Lake Minneapolis, MN 55407 *Please note that checks will be delayed due to local mail office closures.
+ Unicorn Riot
https://unicornriot.ninja/donate/
Over the past five years, Unicorn Riot has built a worker-managed non-profit media organization. We have worked tirelessly to build a platform that focuses on primary source reporting and on-the-ground coverage. Our reporters go where the story is unfolding to bring you the voices of real people alongside crucial context and facts.
Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, educational 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization of artists and journalists. Our work is dedicated to exposing root causes of dynamic social and environmental issues through amplifying stories and exploring sustainable alternatives in today’s globalized world.
Born from the Internet in 2015, our commercial-free platform operates non-hierarchically, independent of corporate or government control. Unicorn Riot spans across multiple US cities including Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia. All of our financial support comes from grants and from you, our audience.
+ Better Futures Minnesota
https://betterfuturesminnesota.com/
Since 2007, Better Futures Minnesota has stood as one of the most impactful social justice enterprises in our community. We intentionally embrace, support, and employ at-risk African American men recently released from incarceration. Over 1,300 of these men have benefited from our trauma-informed care, stable housing, coaching, and a job. Our employment and child support payment rates are high; our return to prison rates are very low.
To help Better Futures further:
- Donate to support our financial needs as we recover and prepare for future success.
- Shop our retail ReUse Warehouse store for used materials.
- Visit our website to learn about how you can promote our products and services to homeowners and businesses.
- Contract with us to deconstruct a building instead of demolition; this reduces emissions and landfill waste while used products are repurposed
Justice Page
To honor one of the greatest Purple People Eaters who had countless achievements on the field, and continues to inspire and make the world a better place, we had to go light on the purple and big on the flavor.
Justice Page - Fruited Berliner w/ Guava, Blueberry, Plum (4.50%).
In keeping with our recent tradition of highlighting Black Minnesotans, we’ve named this beer after the great Alan Page who starred for the Vikings as a defensive lineman.
Page went on to become the first defensive player to win the MVP award, with only one other player achieving the feat, and also became a member of the College & NFL Hall of Fame.
While dominating the gridiron, he laid the groundwork for his future by attending the University of Minnesota Law School, for which he received a Juris Doctorate in 1978 and worked for a law firm outside the football season.
In 1992, Page was elected to an open seat as an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, becoming the first Black American to serve on that court.
Profits from this beer will be donated to the Page Education Foundation which creates heroes through education and service by encouraging Minnesota students of color to pursue post-secondary education. In exchange for financial support, recipients, known as Page Scholars, contribute to our community by mentoring younger children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Additionally, Justice Page is the official beer sponsor for the Make Your Mark Virtual Lunch Gala, held on September 16th.
Sterling
As many of you already know, we name all of our beers after famous Minnesotans and people/things with significant ties to our state.
We typically don’t reveal the person outright and instead offer clues within the description, on our beer boards, and in the beer name itself. Not only does it allow us to highlight history, but it doubles as a hidden game of trivia when visiting the taproom.
To enhance this a bit, we’re going to highlight a handful of black Minnesotans who achieved greatness in their time and donate a portion of the proceeds to related organizations & groups of that particular person.
First on the list is, Sterling - New England Double IPA (7.75%) which utilizes a combination of hops from Down Under to create a juicy bright melon flavor profile.
Named after Clarence “Cap” Wigington - A renowned architect who gained significant notoriety in St. Paul, where he became the nation’s first black municipal architect. Sixty of his buildings still stand in the city, several of which are recognized on the National Register of Historical Places.
A portion of the proceeds from this beer will be donated to the National Organization for Minority Architects.
Clown Ball
To celebrate a natural ball player who excelled on the diamond to become the first of three women to play professional baseball, we’re calling up a new big hitter to the plate.
Clown Ball - Berliner w/ Passionfruit, Pineapple, Tangerine (6.25%)
In 1953, Toni Stone was signed by the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro League to play 2nd base, which was the position held by Hank Aaron the previous year, and she even managed to record a hit against legendary pitcher Satchel Paige. All of these accomplishments make her “one of the best players you’ve never heard of,” according to the NLBPA website.
Toni is also a member of the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, and March 6th is officially Toni Stone day in her hometown of St. Paul.
Profits of this beer will be donated to the Still Got Game Foundation which was created to bring former professional athletes and like-minded charitable individuals to exchange ideas, provide resources, volunteer, and develop and promote programming that supports social change for a more just, sustainable, and educated world.