⚖️ Privilege Statement

How did I get here – creating a nonprofit devoted to serving free tea?

Travels to foreign countries, books like The Artist's Way, conversations with supportive friends and family, etc.

All of the above, and many other positive experiences I've had, can be attributed to my privilege.

I grew up in a loving, stable, household not far outside New York City. The public school I attended was well-funded and safe (and racist, our sports teams were called the "Indians"). My dad taught me how to manage my anxiety, my mom showed me my inner artist, and my older sister protected me from the worst of the toxic masculinity rampant in our town/world. My high school graduation gift was a trekking backpack.

In short, my family encouraged me to explore the world and myself, and I did. My white skin, maleness, and physical ability gave me access to resources and opportunities with few barriers. I did well at college (which my parents helped me pay for) and at my first full-time job.

During COVID, while many suffered physically and spiritually (including myself), my privilege led me toward a remote job in biotech, resulting in a high salary and a low-cost lifestyle. After saving enough money to cover my living expenses for an extended period of time, I moved to Brooklyn and quit my job, eager to focus my time and energy on something more creative and community-oriented.

Thus, The Tea Stand was born.

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The privilege I've inherited is rooted in historical and systemic oppression. It's a positive feedback loop – the more powerful the privileged become, the more devoted they become to creating systems to maintain this power.

As Sherri L. Mitchell, author of Sacred Instructions; Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change writes, "the overall lack of diversity within the patriarchal colonial paradigm has had a suffocating impact on creative intelligence and a divisive impact on society." We wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

By serving free tea, I seek to use my privilege to create a more just world and enable community connections across class and identity borders. (I'm also aware that the safety I experience and trust I receive while serving free tea in public settings is in part due to my white, male presentation.) Through collaborations and resource sharing, I strive to help close the opportunity gap, the very one which brought me to where I am today.

By holding gratitude for all I've been given, recognizing that I have enough, and choosing to share – tea, kindness, and opportunities, I hope to use my privilege to help eradicate its inequitable, divisive effects.

FREE TEA FOR ALL!