THE FOUR TWENTY TAROT CURSE
THE FOUR TWENTY TAROT CURSE
The magic this deck can unlock is very powerful and therefore protected by a very scary and real curse. This curse is activated by unchecked biases and complacency with white supremacy.
If you are white or benefit from white privilege and are not actively working for the joy and liberation of Black and Brown people on a daily basis, put these cards away. It will not go well for you.
Credit to EbonyJanice Moore for the words and goal of joy and liberation (particularly for Black women and femmes). Because Black and Brown people have historically, systemically, and disproportionately been targeted and harmed by the War on Drugs, and this is a cannabis-themed deck, the curse was created.
Listen to, Learn from, and Pay Black Women and Femmes.
Black women and femmes are leading us to the more equitable future that I want to see. They are doing radical work for not enough recognition and pay.
Listen to how Black women and femmes are asking for support. Offer your services for reduced rates or for free. Listen and take action, without conditions.
Black women and femmes who have taught me a lot:
Catrice M. Jackson
Jade T. Perry
EbonyJanice Moore
Christina Michelle Watkins
Leesa Renee Hall
Layla F. Saad
Tammy Pettigrew
Tricia Hersey
Social Justice and Equity in Cannabis
A Black person is 3.64x more likely than a white person to be arrested for possession of cannabis, even though Black and white people use cannabis at similar rates.* Black people continue to disproportionately targeted and arrested for a crime no one should be in prison for.
White people are profiting more from the legal cannabis industry. Less than one fifth of cannabis business owners identify as a racial minority, including the 4.3% who are Black.** Lots of financial capital is required to get started in the cannabis industry. Black business owners are less likely than their white counterparts to inherit generational wealth (a reverberating effect of slavery). They are also less likely to be approved for a loan.
The benefits and profits reaped from the emerging legalized cannabis industries is not being shared with the communities most harmed by the War on Drugs.*
*Source: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform
**Source: Black People Face Big Barriers Entering the Legal Weed Industry
What can I do?
Support Black and Brown people in cannabis. Buy weed for your Black and Brown friends.
Buy from BIPOC-owned cannabis businesses. Find an extensive list here, from Cannaclusive. Go to BIPOC owned dispensaries, even if they aren’t the most convenient. Ask your dispensaries what products they are selling from BIPOC creators and cultivators.
Support the following organizations by donating your money and amplifying their message:
Supernova Women is a non-profit supporting women of color in cannabis, creating community empowerment through education.
NuLeaf Project is a non-profit working to build intergenerational success for Black and Brown people through the legal cannabis industry.
Last Prisoner Project is fighting criminal injustice and reimagining drug policy.
Support joy and liberation for Black and Brown communities. One way to do so is by supporting BIPOC artists.
The time and space required to dream and create is not afforded equally to everyone. Help a BIPOC creator by purchasing directly from them and sharing their work. Another option is to support one of the organizations below:
OC Art Studios provides affordable and accessible higher education courses in fundamental skills necessary for entering the animation, comics, and illustration industries. That education is free for Black artists.
Emma’s Legacy Foundation supports Black women with tools and resources to expand their inner capacity to heal, dream, create, and actualize as their higher selves.
Project Ete Sen provides Black trans and queer therapists in the Bay Area with paid leave to support their health and well-being.