Isabella Soto (Class of 2029) - Honoring Legacy: Reflections from the Uncle Nearest Distillery

     On Saturday, September 13, I had the privilege of visiting the Uncle Nearest Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee. This retreat was guided by our reading of Fawn Weaver’s Love & Whiskey, a book that tells the story of Nearest Green, the formerly enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel the craft of whiskey making. Weaver recounts her journey of uncovering Green’s legacy and creating a thriving business to honor his name. The book blends history, personal thought, and entrepreneurship, asking us to consider how recovering hidden stories can change the way we see both the past and the future. Seeing the distillery alongside the text made me reflect on how telling a more complete story can influence the future we build.

    Walking through the distillery made history tangible in a way no classroom discussion or text could fully capture. The physical scale and beauty of the site, the crowds of visitors, and the care with which Green’s story has been included in the space all testified to the weight of his legacy. It reminded me of a discussion Dr. Hite led on bell hooks’ chapter “Loving Blackness as Political Resistance.” Hooks argues that affirming Blackness, loving it in public and unapologetic ways, pushes back against historical silencing and creates space for new forms of communal success. The distillery embodies that idea. It is more than a distillery; it is a place where Black history and joy come together, and where Nearest Green’s story is recognized as central to American culture.

    Traveling through state lines, from Georgia to Tennessee, also played a large role in shaping the way I thought about past and present ties. Crossing state lines and moving through landscapes once shaped by enslavement and labor reminded me that history is tied to place. It showed me that the past is not far away but is rather connected to the land itself. Being in Shelbyville made Green’s story feel less like distant history and more like something still alive and in the present.

    Danielle Allen’s Our Declaration offers another layer to the way I think about freedom and responsibility. Allen explains that the promise of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” should be read as an argument that links personal freedom with collective responsibility. At the distillery, I saw this collective pursuit in action. Fawn Weaver’s work was not just about her entrepreneurial gain, but about developing a shared culture where Nearest Green’s legacy is part of us all. The joy and pride filling the site showed how history, when understood collectively, becomes a way of building community and reshaping the future.

The distillery also brought up harder questions. Whiskey is a source of celebration, but it can also cause harm through addiction and health issues. Weaver recognizes the tension between the pleasure and risks of whiskey but frames her work as more than just a business. The distillery provides jobs, honors Nearest Green’s role in American whiskey, and supports the local community. In doing so, it suggests entrepreneurship crosses into responsibility when what is being sold carries historical weight and a communal social meaning. I believe profit can’t be separated from accountability.

Stepping outside the classroom into this space changed how I thought about learning. On campus, ideas often stay in books and discussions. At the distillery, history was something I could firsthand see and experience with others. It made me feel not only like a student, but part of a larger story about memory and community. This visit also connects to other works we have read. Robin D.G. Kelley’s Freedom Dreams calls us to imagine futures that move beyond oppression, and Weaver’s project felt like one of those dreams brought to life through celebrating and sharing the life and legacy of Nearest Green. Frank X Walker’s Turn Me Loose uses poetry to give voice to stories left out of mainstream history, much like Weaver recovers Green’s. These connections reminded me that learning is active and that I must take actionable steps through reading and researching in order to move through the world as a better scholar.

The retreat also left me with a stronger sense of responsibility. The Uncle Nearest Distillery is more than a business or tourist site; it is a place where history, ethics, and joy come together. It showed me that the pursuit of happiness is not only personal but shared, and that honoring the past is part of shaping a better future.

- Isabella Soto, CO' 2029

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