BEING AROUND for 100 years, you see and experience a lot of things.
Segregation. Desegregation. The European battlefields of World War II. The civil rights movement. The devastating consequences of America’s failed War on Drugs.
These moments of history barely scratch the surface of all that I’ve been a part of over the last century, but each contributed to or reinforced my decision to dedicate my life to uplifting the Black community in Boston.
When I got back from fighting in Europe – a return delayed for months because Black soldiers had to wait for a special ship to bring us home – I had trouble getting a mortgage from a bank. So, I joined with other local Black leaders and we started our own bank, United Bank and Trust Company, the first Black-owned bank in Boston. Our goal was to help our neighbors in Roxbury and Dorchester build wealth and gain economic power. Today, that bank is the largest Black-owned bank in the United States.
For more than four decades I led the Community Development Corporation of Boston, an organization that contributed to the development of the South End, Roxbury, and Boston’s Southwest Corridor. As president and CEO for 43 years, I spent every day focused on Black economic empowerment.
I spent my life focused on improving the lives of Black residents of our state, helping people who don’t have the same opportunities as others. I’ve always believed the best way to do this is through building wealth in our communities, and so economics has always been a major part of my life.
It’s why in my 90s I decided to take advantage of the business opportunities presented by the legalization of cannabis in Massachusetts. To be clear, marijuana was not something I was passionate about. I’d never even smoked it. But I spent my life identifying economic empowerment opportunities and I saw the potential in this brand new industry and what it could offer, in particular, to historically marginalized communities.
Well into my 90s, I was still moved to get involved, eager to obtain licenses and open up shop, and most excited about employing people who may have been impacted by the War on Drugs and put money directly into their pockets. After all, ensuring equity was a major part of the legalization conversation.
But Massachusetts is failing on the equity front. Operators like me have done everything that was asked of us, and jumped through all the hoops to be designated an economic empowerment license. But the promises of access to capital and a level playing field have not been kept. And now I find myself back in a fight I know well, a battle against a broken system that threatens to widen economic inequality and destroy livelihoods.
While some Black and Brown folks have been able to obtain licenses, and a subset of those able to actually open their doors, the current statutory framework limits opportunities for growth, or alternatively for opportunities to leave the market. At a time when high inflation and tanking cannabis prices are crushing businesses, owners need more options, not less.
While historical inequities compound these challenges on minority-owned businesses, the reality is these challenges touch the entire industry.
All operators must follow these same restrictive laws and, as a result, many find themselves handcuffed to a plummeting asset—their cannabis license. They are handcuffed because they cannot access bankruptcy protections and cannot find a buyer for their license. While the bankruptcy issue is outside the jurisdiction of the state, legislators can create an offramp for operators by lifting the license cap beyond three and allowing entities to own more than 9.99 percent of additional licenses.
In the current market conditions, it is unrealistic to expect someone with no prior operational experience and knowledge in the cannabis industry to turn around a failing stand-alone cannabis retail business. Increasing the ownership percentage and the license cap will enable entrepreneurs to engage in joint ventures, jumpstart their stalled businesses, grow them, and eventually sell them to build wealth for themselves and their families. This approach will also help fulfill the equity promise made by the state when this industry was created.
I’m still passionate about the potential this industry has to benefit the community I have spent my life fighting for. But without urgent intervention, the risk of more-and-more operators closing their doors under insurmountable debt will continue to grow.
My life has been about helping the community, helping people who never had a chance. I’m trying to do that by sounding this alarm. I am hopeful that the needed industry reforms are put into place before my eyes are closed.
Marvin Gilmore is president and co-founder of Western Front, a Black, Latino, and veteran-owned and operated cannabis company. He is a highly regarded entrepreneur and community leader and civil right activist who co-founded the first Black-owned and operated bank in Boston.
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