Dusting off a Forgotten Legacy

During our trip to the Nearest Green distillery, we learned the importance of paying tribute to the legacy of significant historical Black individuals, especially when African American contributions were previously overlooked. 

On the distillery tour, our guide, Terrel Johnson, taught us about the women’s rights and activism history woven through the story of their hidden speakeasy. He informed us about how Weaver and her distillery team held the women’s efforts for temperance legislation in such high regard that they filled the bar with exactly 16 seats, in addition to the speakeasy being lined with pictures of Ida B. Wells and women suffragettes. Our guide even boasted that their distillery team was entirely composed of women, with the exception of the president, the CEO’s husband, Keith Weaver. This reflects the achievements of the united women in the 1900s who raised the age of consent, created public water fountains, and, seemingly the most noteworthy accomplishment depicted in the speakeasy,  fought for temperance. 

However, it is interesting that the distillery created a speakeasy to honor the achievements of the then politically active women despite the fact that they are represented through a whiskey distillery. I find it ironic that the distillery created a speakeasy, a hidden bar, to highlight the accomplishments of the women of the 1900s who fought tirelessly to keep their husbands from alcohol. However, through this contradiction, the Nearest Green distillery encompasses what it means to “succeed through something that delights as it wounds” because the demand for alcohol, specifically whiskey, provided an avenue for Nearest to build his legacy. His innovative whiskey technique was passed down to his successors, the Jack Daniel's company, which provided men with refreshments after a long day's work, even though these whiskey sales resulted in the abuse of women who were fighting for temperance. Although the modern business glorified their resourcefulness in working around selling Nearest Green whiskey in the dry state of Tennessee, they put the women who fought for temperance on a pedestal despite being the cause of their abuses. 

From visiting the distillery, we also learned more about Uncle Nearest’s current effect on the whiskey industry in Tennessee. In Love and Whiskey, Weaver demonstrated her journey of making the perfect whiskey to honor the legacy of Nearest’s contributions to the Tennessee whiskey industry. She details the conflicting pressures she faced between her entrepreneurial side of not encroaching on the Jack Daniel's whiskey business while making her own bestselling bottle, while trying to create a product that would fully honor the Uncle Nearest legacy. Despite her journey in the whiskey industry being the main plotline of her book, Weaver’s struggles call to attention her diligent character, steadfast in her mission to dust off Nearest’s lost legacy. Stepping out of the classroom and into the distillery inspires students in the honors program to implement Weaver’s diligence for appreciating the beauty in putting Black individuals’ achievements on a pedestal while being outside of the gates of Spelman. It is not an easy task to undergo because of centuries of burying African American successes, talents, and culture. However, it was refreshing to be in a space similar to Spelman, while even though we were surrounded by people in MAGA hats, people came from far and wide to admire and worship the beauty in the Black innovation that was Nearest’s distillery. Even though Fawn Weaver refined the distillery for the public to admire the display of esteemed Black excellence, Uncle Nearest was recognized as a significant individual in Lynchburg before Weaver arrived  in the town. His legacy was not only the whiskey but also the safe haven created through his legacy and brilliance where White and Black people had mutual respect for each other. It shows that as Black leaders and role models, we serve to create spaces of inclusivity.  

However, I sense a complication in the reason for Nearest’s story getting lost. In the video “The story of Nearest Green”, Keith Weaver says “his story went missing, untold for quite some time, but what’s important is that the truth has finally found the light”. Later in the same video he recounts “[Jack Daniel's] never let his respect for Nearest Green go unnoticed”. If the latter were true, Nearest’s legacy would have been evident. Weaver would not have had to scour history records, and track down family members to jog their memories for details of their distant relative. Regardless of how the story was lost, Weaver’s work highlights the importance of celebrating Black excellence to inspire generations to come. 

Sabrina Addo

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