Born into slavery, Nathan “Nearest” Green was a man with a unique gift: he could whip up some good whiskey. The skill was a remnant of alcohol production from past African cultures that Green honed and mastered.
Around the 1850s Green’s enslaver, a mediocre distiller, forced him to teach a young Jack Daniel all about the distillery process. Under coercion, Green shared everything he knew. Now Jack Daniel knew all of his secrets – but this was just the beginning of how Green was robbed.
Jack Daniel used Green’s master skills to build his whiskey empire. Daniel employed Green and Green’s two sons. For generations, Green’s children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren worked for the company built on the back of their forefather’s talent – without credit. But the story isn’t over.
It took 150 years before the wildly successful company even acknowledged Green. In collaboration with Green’s descendants, a group of Black entrepreneurs made their own highly-regarded brand, called Uncle Nearest whiskey!
Green was unable to fight back against the white thieves who used his creativity and talent for their own benefit, but his name lives on. Today we can benefit from our own innovation, just as Green’s descendants did. The Black business economy is as strong as we make it!