My name is Anna and I’m the Community Manager at Fair State Brewing Cooperative. 

Over the past few years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what we’re trying to accomplish when we decide to talk about social issues as a business. Businesses weighing in on social justice issues has become more common over the past few years, which can also lead to some pretty understandable backlash. It can feel cheesy, self-serving, or just plain weird. 

But when it comes to something like the Roe v. Wade decision that came down today, we don’t think we’re alone in wanting to do something. Here’s where we’ve landed on what makes sense for Fair State to do, along with exactly how we’re doing it.

NORMALIZE

Here’s something interesting about being a small business: all of a sudden, everybody loves you. Democrats? Love you. Republicans? They love you too. You’re Main Street, you’re regular America.

The advantage of being a small business is that we’re able to use our voice to support social issues, even ones that spark controversy. Part of what we hope we accomplish when we host events like the Our Justice fundraiser last year is to make abortion—a standard medical procedure—seem just a little more normal to more people. After all, we’re just a regular old small business and we’re supporting it.

FUNDRAISE + AMPLIFY

Speaking of that Our Justice fundraiser… We’re also able to raise money. We don’t have a ton of our own money to throw around, but we have space and beer and we can raise money that way. 

We hope you’ll join us at the taproom on Saturday, July 16 for a fundraiser benefitting Just the Pill, an excellent organization sending abortion pills by mail to Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.

We’re also lucky to have a dedicated audience of folks who support what we do, read our emails, and follow us on social media. That means we can use this email to say this: you can also support abortion access in Minnesota by donating to Our Justice, and you can support abortion access across the country by donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds.

BUILD COMMUNITY

Sometimes, when things are really shitty, you just want to have a beer with some people who get it. We’re here for that too. All weekend long, you’ll also have the option to donate a few bucks to Our Justice when you close out your tab—just let your bartender know. We’ll let you know next week how much money we’re able to raise that way as a community. 

If you have thoughts, feedback, or ideas about any of this, as always, I’m all ears. You can email me anytime at [email protected]. 

Here’s to all of us doing the small things we’re able to do. 

-Anna