HOOD INCUBATOR

HOOD INCUBATOR

Co-founders Lanese Martin & Ebele Ifedigbo discuss what’s next for the Black-led, Bay Area-born organization committed to reversing the harmful impacts of America’s drug war.

WE COULD USE A LOT MORE PLACES LIKE HOOD INCUBATOR IN THE WORLD.

Founded by Lanese Martin and Ebele Ifedigbo in 2016, Hood Incubator is an organization with the stated goal of “ending the drug war and reversing its harmful impacts on Black communities.” Initially, Martin and Ifedigbo focused on their local community in Oakland with a business accelerator, assisting hopeful Cannabis entrepreneurs with the resources, training and mentorship required to land a permit with the city.

“There was this wave of Cannabis legalization happening, first in Colorado and then in these other Pacific Northwestern states,” said Ifedigbo of their motivation to partner with Martin on Hood Incubator. “We were seeing a trend of the industry being whitewashed. Knowing that California is a leader in this industry - and seeing that some of the factors that we needed to do this work were already in place there - we decided to launch here, in Oakland, and pick up the work from there.”

However, as time has gone on, it has become apparent to Hood Incubator’s founders that focusing too intently on Cannabis justice is akin, in Martin’s words, “to putting on a Band-Aid, but a bunch of blood keeps flowing out.” In this case, blood is taking the form of housing instability, voter disenfranchisement, and the large scale refusal of public institutions and private businesses to fund Black-led endeavors.

“That’s when we realized that we needed to start organizing people to make sure they understood these systemic issues,” Martin explained by phone to California Leaf. “We also want them to know that they have the skillset to dismantle them, both in their local communities as well as nationally. That’s what led us to the current work we’re doing.”

That new work has largely taken the form of organizing and networking. Martin is currently working to add a handful of national Hood Incubator affiliates across the country. With soft verbal agreements currently in place with existing organizations in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Buffalo, NY, Martin is hoping her organization can assist with eliminating redundant policy conversations by bringing people with past experience together.

“New York City shouldn’t be talking about legislation that Oakland or Los Angeles has already tried and learned doesn’t work,” Martin explained. “You can learn from something that Chicago did or something that St. Louis did, so The game speaks to what Hood Incubator’s founders feel is the we really need to make sure that we start having next chapter in the battle: shining a spotlight on the intertwined these conversations together, especially at the histories of past federal drug policy and the demands for justice local level.” now emanating from streets across the country.

Even as Hood Incubator looks to expand its “Our organizing tenet is to meet folks where they’re at and footprint, it still continues to offer the services that to provide that direct service,” Martin said. “Then you can start first cemented the organization as a vital asset to building the base for the larger issue and that’s what we’re the community. That includes doing. What we have now is a group the aforementioned “Cannabis Accelerator” program, which consists of eight sessions held BY CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN POLICY, POT AND of people who don’t know how a bill becomes a law outside of that cartoon that we got to watch in over four weeks. In a three series intensive course, participants learn about power THE POWER OF THE VOTE, HOOD INCUBATOR HOPES elementary school - if they showed it to you.” By connecting the dots between (both generally and as it relates TO HELP LOCAL COMMUNITIES policy, pot and the power of the vote, specifically to the Cannabis industry), as well as technical skills and campaign development. HARNESS THEIR COLLECTIVE STRENGTH. Hood Incubator hopes to help local communities harness their collective strength. Part of that work involves

While those offerings cater reframing and reinvigorating the to individuals ready to make a conversation around the idea that the fight doesn’t end with a full professional commitment to Cannabis, Hood Cannabis permit. Martin points to grassroots campaigns like Ban Incubator also features more laid back, drop-in the Box and Defund the Police as examples of the broader coacurriculum as well. litions that she wants to see Cannabis activists align themselves

One example is their “Higher Learning” series: with - if true change is the desired outcome. a monthly gathering to discuss an item of news “We want to tell people that you have the power to dismantle or work of art related to the intersection of Black the impact of the drug war,” Martin said. “It’s less about ‘you’re life and the war on drugs. Martin also previews making money while my cousin’s still in jail.’ It’s about giving an upcoming ‘virtual edutainment experience’ in people the opportunity to get the full, political education of what the form of an online trivia game that will provide went down and what their role is in keeping the status quo. More players both with fun Cannabis facts, as well as importantly, we want them to understand what their role can be in foundational information on the drug war and its dismantling the status quo, so that we can get to the shared vision lasting impacts. of justice that we want.” LEARN MORE AT HOODINCUBATOR.ORG