Hemp was one of America's most important global crops long before United States independence. Renowned historical documentarian Kent Masterson Brown from Witnessing History joins Joy Beckerman to discuss his latest project about the history of hemp in American. He shares accounts of hemp production from the Jamestown settlement through the Civil War and beyond. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/kent-masterson-brown
Hemp was one of America's most important global crops long before United States independence. Renowned historical documentarian Kent Masterson Brown from Witnessing History joins Joy Beckerman to discuss his latest project about the history of hemp in American. He shares accounts of hemp production from the Jamestown settlement through the Civil War and beyond.
https://podconx.com/guests/kent-masterson-brown
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:00:08] Well, welcome to today's Hemp Barons podcast, everyone, I'm host Joy Beckerman, and so excited to be with you today.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:00:15] I'm particularly inspired about today's show with Kent Masterson Brown of Witnessing History Foundation in Kent is, as you will learn, an award winning documentarian, a brilliant, amazing soul. And I am so privileged to be working with him on a project that I hope will change the world, believe will change the world, the seed and fiber of wealth. In the meantime, over the last week, we've had some developments. So yesterday was July 2nd. At the time of this taping, and according to data collected by The Washington Post yesterday, Thursday, July 2nd, the U.S. reported fifty five thousand two hundred twenty new Corona virus cases, which had surpassed Wednesday July's first single day record of fifty two thousand seven hundred eighty nine Corona virus cases. So that's the greatest since the start of the pandemic. To this, I say, please stay home. Please wear your maps in public and wash your hands frequently. Rinse and repeat. Additionally, the Black Lives Matter movement, criminal justice reform movement, socio economical political reform movement is taking root, particularly during this transformative time. One of the silver linings or blessings, as you might say, that are coming with this pandemic is the ability for us to slow down and look at ourselves for a moment, reevaluate and work together and build community. And boy, are these movements growing. It's really exciting. There are all types of minorities now coming in, getting organized. We just need time here to continue to get organized and come out as a unified voice.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:01:52] And of course, we have civil rights activists from the 1960s who have been through everything, overcame police dogs and beatings and horrible violence. Cheering on the Black Lives Matter protests and the youngsters and others that are leading this fight. It's incredible what's going on right now. And I have so much hope for the future. And I hope that if you're looking for a purpose and if you're looking for a place to belong, that you'll join both the Hemp movements and the Black Lives Matter movement or any movement regarding criminal justice reform, law enforcement is obviously essential for civilized society. We just need the right tool for the job. So law enforcement and police need to go where they belong. Professionally trained mental health counselors need to go where they belong. And the other first responders who are specially trained need to be deployed where they belong. We need to work on addressing these issues as a society, as well as the underlying issues of where violence and self medication, where all of these types of an addiction and abuse and including substance abuse, where all of that is coming from, why are we medicating as a society so, so heavily and suffering from all of the symptoms that those behaviors result in? And then with some really great inspiring news, at least for myself, I have two beautiful sons, Phenix rising and spiral walking in balance. Yes, those are actually their names.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:03:23] I gave birth to them at home in New York a long, long time ago. They're 26 and 28 years old now. They were student athletes in high school and of course, throughout college and Phenix rising, my oldest, who was also of that in the U.S. Army. He was a paramedic in the civil affairs unit, just graduated last month from the University of Washington, magna cum laude with a degree in law, economics and public policy. And he is starting his masters in public policy at the University of Washington in the fall. He's heavily engaged in these movements. He is a researcher and staunch anti-racist activist. My other son spiral walking in balance. My 26 year old was elected this week to be the president of the University of Kentucky MBA Student Association. So a very proud joy is coming to you this week. It's just amazing to watch the lotus flowers that are our children unfold. And I am just so honored to to watch them walk and witness their journeys in the world. It's just a tremendous pleasure. Well, without further ado, we'll get back to my big baby, and that is the Hemp movement and the Hemp Industries and can't wait to tell you about what we're up to. Kent Masterson Brown, his wife, Genevieve and I and a host of others with the seed and fiber of wealth. We'll talk to you again next week. Everybody, in the meantime, stay healthy, stay safe.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:04:55] And like I said, stay home, wear masks in public and wash your hands frequently by everyone.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:05:10] So hello, Kent Masterson Brown, thank you so much for being with us on Hemp Barons today.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:05:15] It's my pleasure. It's wonderful to be here.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:05:18] It is so wonderful to have you. I couldn't possibly be more excited that Hemp has gained your attention, you, your incredible team wife and witnessing history. Now, of course, in addition to practicing law for forty seven years and being the first chairman, I think being first chairman of the Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory and so many other leadership roles in so many historical type societies, you are on top of all of these things.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:05:50] A historian and a documentarian of epic proportions, including highly regarded and award winning. And I want us to get into that as the interview moves further along. But you, sir, after winning eight tellies and we'll talk about that in a minute, have decided that you are going to be putting your energy into Hemp history. It's something that you've been working on a little bit. Tell us, Ken. What is it that brought you to Hemp?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:06:22] What? What brought me to him, Joy, was my love of Kentucky's history. And Kentucky, as you know, and many in the Hemp industry and fields have known, was probably in the 19th century, particularly the early 19th century. The largest producer of Hemp in America. And so many people whose. Who? Whose families were among the leading members of the Lexington, Kentucky community where I live. Reach that status because of their production and manufacture of Hemp products. And I grew up with this. And you can't be someone interested in Kentucky history without reading books by James Lane.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:07:30] Allen, the the the the novel writer in the years after the Civil War. And one of his books was the famous one. A Tale from the Kentucky Hemp Fields. And that gave you a romantic. Now, not necessarily totally truthful, but romantic idea of what Kentucky's Hemp fields were like in the years before the Civil War. And actually to read that is to think of the most lovely scenes of Kentucky you can imagine.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:08:11] And the most lovely aromas of what it must have been like to live around the Hemp fields. And so, I mean, I grew up with this stuff. Right behind my own family's plot is James Lane Allen's Stone. I mean, so I sat in the cemetery, so I know how close all this is to me. And even though most of my work as a historian has been in the American Civil War and in early American history, Hemp has always been around, has always been there. Particularly when I'm talking about Americans or studying or working on something about America, about Kentucky history. And so it was so huge in this state that you could not help but getting good interested in it.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:09:11] And so the this is what got me for you.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:09:16] And I am I am just so blessed that we that we have found each other. And. And Genevieve, obviously, seed and fiber of wealth will be the name in the name of the documentary that you are producing. It is such a huge pleasure and even bigger privilege to be with your help, by the way. Oh, to be to be helping. Wanted it all to be any part of the telling of this story in this exquisite quality that it's going to be told. And again, the Tell Me awards are so prestigious, they honor excellence in video and television across all streams. And it is highly unusual for a documentarian to win a tele for literally every single document that that documentarian produces documentary. That's that we're doing yet. And yet you have, in fact, talk about timely, your most recent one, your most recent documentary. And I am so thrilled to have to have, you know, you at this time when you actually discovered this, and that is in the declaration, all men are created equal. Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, 1830 to 1860, which, of course, you purposely created to inspire unity. Yeah. Was awarded to 2020 telling awards. So it got the tally in two categories, not just as a history or history documentary, but as a movie about history. So as I tried to explain it, to keep people, you know, as in if MGM had made a movie about history or Disney had made a movie about history, you know.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:10:58] And it was really wonderful, perhaps they would have won to get the tele award. But no. Kent's documentary is actually what won in that regular category. So this is a very, very exciting for Hemp that we have garnered the attention of an exquisite historian and film producer with access to so many of these records and artifacts that will be shown. And and as you and I are often discussing, as I often say in this show, can't be not just the United States government, it was globally, although the United States was actually pretty much the global bully in prohibition. It was just the plant itself that was removed from our consciousness. It was all knowledge of the plant that was removed from our consciousness, which is why now when people hear the song of Hemp, the story of Hemp promise of Hemp, it affects them on a whole nother level because they have been intentionally deprived of the information they had to begin with. Then you will tell us a little bit about when you think, since I happen to know the story, you want to tell us a little bit about what you've discovered about Transilvania University, the very first university in the state of Kentucky, right there by by the University of Kentucky, where my son is a Masters student. Tell us a little bit about what you discovered there and what that meant to you. What kind of lights went on in your mind?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:12:29] Well, I mean, I Transylvania University was founded in seventeen eighty.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:12:36] It's the oldest college west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was what's even commented upon by Thomas Jefferson as a place where one could learn from, quote, the old task, meaning that the ancients, the the earliest of our teachers and Jefferson supported them.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:13:02] So it was not only founded very early in life and not even here, it was founded first in what is now Boyle County near Danville.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:13:11] Then it was reformed in just outside of Lexington. That's his good church. And then ultimately wound up in Lexington. And it is still in the heart of Lexington. And it is truly the most venerable institution this state has to transform. The university, though it began with its pioneer background, it could not have lasted long without the financial support of people of great means. And here is where Hemp plays a role. Among those who were that early trustees of Transilvania were people like John Wesley Hunt, who moved to Lexington from Trenton, New Jersey. And John Wesley Hunt became one of the earliest producers and wheat growers of Hemp. And his farm is less than three miles from where I'm sitting right now. And John Hunt raised Hemp, but then got into the manufacturing of Hemp products. And those products included Hemp bales to bale cotton. And also included Hemp Rope, which was used in not only domestic use of rope, but for the United States Navy in its rigging and sails or ships, battleships. And John Wesley Hunt became a man of enormous fortune as a result of his. Adventures in the Hemp rasing as well as Hemp manufacturing. He was joined by lots of others, including his partner, John Brand. John Brand came from Scotland and moved here. He tried a Hemp production venture in Scotland and it's failed. And he came to America. And here he joined forces with John Wesley Hunt. And the two made a fortune both in the Hemp raising, as well as particularly the manufacturing of Hemp products. Now, this is all in the years between 18 five and 18 20. And notice that spans the War of 1812, as well as the Poland's invasion of Russia. And the Napoleonic War, together with the War of 1812, raised the specter of the use of Kentucky Hemp as opposed to Russian Hemp, which heretofore was used almost exclusively in the maritime industry.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:16:29] Indeed, Napoleon intentionally invaded Russia so that it could cut off the supply of the English Navy's Hemp and he was quite successful in that strategy. Oh, absolutely. And, of course, gave the United States, specifically Kentucky, the opportunity to to see that that moment and that market. Yes. And then later on, of course, in history, as you well know, the Japanese invaded Manila in World War Two to cut off what they did by Amory's. Yes. To cut off the United States Navy's supply of Hemp for Manila, Hemp. And that is where Hemp for victory. The USDA film came in at thirteen and a half minute film. I always ask people to go to YouTube dot com and type in Hemp for victory. And the United States government had to distribute 400000 pounds of Hemp seeds, farmers from Kentucky to Wisconsin for eight years. And for four years they produced forty two thousand tons of fiber annually for the war until it ended. As you well know. But let me ask you this with regard to the trustees at Transilvania University, what what did you find in common with each of the trustees of that university?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:17:46] They all were growers and manufacturers.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:17:50] Every one of them. Every last one of them. Every last one of.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:17:53] Well, as we talk about how all of this wealth was generated, I know you of all people can have a very deep understanding. A huge heart of humanitarian. Of unity. Of oneness. You've spent so much of your life's work promoting and spreading the message of unity and oneness. And I would like us to talk about how Hemp came to Kentucky. And of course, I want to know or I want the listeners to know your incredible insight on slavery, specifically in Kentucky and specifically around Hemp brother. Lay it on.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:18:33] Well, let me go. Number one. And that is how Hemp came to Kentucky. Most of the suffers, not all of them, but most of the early settlers of Kentucky came from Virginia. Daniel Boone came from North Carolina, although his family had traversed Virginia to get there from Pennsylvania. Still, he came from North Carolina, but most of the settlers came from Virginia. Now, Virginia in the 17th century. When the early settlers were settling Jamestown. They were introduced by the Native American tribes living along the Potomac and the James River. To a Hemp product, Hemp plant. That they were growing and cultivating. Now that the English settlers of Virginia coming from England also were there at the behest of the Crown. And so the crown insisted that they raise Hemp. Why? Because Hemp was used for maritime uses, ships rigging sails. You could make noise. You could you could use Hemp to make almost anything. Joy, you you know that. I mean, almost anything. That's the glory of that of that plant. But they. Britain was interested in the maritime uses of it prominently. And so many of the settlers came here understanding that England and the Crown wanted them to raise Hemp. But they were also introduced now to the fact that Native Americans living in Virginia were raising a Hemp like plant. We don't know exactly what that plant was, but it was a Hemp like plant that was used with the same kind of purposes. And so we got the idea over time of these settlers using Indian Hemp and recommending Indian Hemp because it was grown here. Well, they got seeds from Britain to plant here and they raised Hemp on their own. But they also raised Indian Hemp. And in fact, George Washington's comments on the fact that every platter should raise Indian Hemp make the most of the Indian hemp seed.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:21:19] And so it everywhere, as George Washington says in those Mount Vernon diaries in and I did not realize I'm learning now and I consider myself quite a historian. But boy, if I've met my match and then a mentor in this advanced degree is at the behest of the crown. Now, that's fascinating to me because, of course, I often teach to lawyers and otherwise, including in continuing legal education seminars. And this is the truth of it, of course, that our very first Cannabis law in the United States within 16, 19 in the Jamestown colony, Virginia, ordering farmers to make trial of the Indian Hemp seed. And I'm now learning for the first time that was not necessarily a United States I'm sorry, an American colonial American directive that was at the behest of the crown, is what you're telling me? Oh, yes.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:22:09] Oh, yes. But they wanted they wanted Hemp raised because there was no place to raise it there. And so one of the reasons they established colonies and frankly, the whole of the colonies in America were raised in part because of the need for Hemp. So it may very well be that maybe the spark for the colonization of what became America, that's stunning to me. But it is true.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:22:34] Absolute. No, absolutely stunning. Wow. There Wowza.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:22:47] Let's move on, shall we, to a part of our history that I. We are having to come to terms with this this suppression of genocide and raping and pillaging and violence against humanity, against women, against families, against people of peace and and certainly against war, war like enemies. But when we when we discussed genocide, when we discussed slavery and the fact that America was built on these inhumane violent practices, that we're now finally, some 400 years later, starting to come to terms with an as as a people, as a race to heal from. Let's talk a little bit. Put a lens specifically on Kentucky and what's the story? Is there the history with Hemp and slavery in Kentucky?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:23:44] Well, I would say this, Joy. I would say America came to terms with it in the eighteen sixties in a extraordinarily bloody civil war where probably more than one and a half million people lost their lives.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:24:03] People look at 750000 as those deaths in the civil war. What I'm telling you, I've studied all those returns and it's well over a million, million and a half after that with the Civil War now, which was the defining moment in America's dealing with the institution of slavery.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:24:24] Kentucky was a slave state, but the only crop that was a crop that required a large amount of manpower to raise and harvest was Hemp. We were not a cotton growing state, Kentucky. We we we grow a few acres of long stem cotton in the far south west of Kentucky in the Jackson purchased, but nowhere else where we were. Aye aye. Aye, aye. Hemp growing state, which was in the center. Central Kentucky. Is what mandated us being a slave state without Hemp in Kentucky. There would have been no slavery in Kentucky of any proportions at all.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:25:28] And let me just ask you this, if I could, Ken. Yes. And so I'm sure we had some listeners right now that are saying any at all. Is there any way to qualify that? I mean, certainly it's certainly there was some form. I think we were always dealing with discrimination.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:25:48] Of course. Of course.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:25:49] First, you know, what I'm talking about is a slave state in the in comparison to the slave states of the Gulf States, we were nothing like that, but forced Hemp. How was slavery introduced into Kentucky? It is earliest settlement. Yeah, it was. Many settlers came to Kentucky with slaves. And we know that from the siege of Boonsboro. We know that from the siege of other stations where slaves played prominent roles in those sieges. But those were one among many. Where you get to Hemp production is large numbers of them. And when if Kentucky was not a Hemp producing state, it would not have slavery in the fashion that we have come to know slavery in America.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:26:53] And so it was really because Hemp was a very labor intensive crop, required lots of hands, lots of people in the fields of planning and then particularly harvesting a Hemp, which was a long and involved process.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:27:18] As we often say, we love it. It's the longest, strongest fiber in the world after it's harvested and processed. The fact that it's the longest, strongest fiber in the world before it's harvested makes harvesting and processing quite difficult. And, you know, I just I so many statistics flushing you right now of modern day, which, you know, that less than two percent of agricultural lands in the United States are owned by black landowners. And that and a tremendous amount of healing that's going on even in Kentucky as there are several generations later. We have black families growing Hemp, you know, when they know that their ancestors and they have traced back that lineage through scrawl man, because you get, you know, so well you've been going through volumes and volumes.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:28:08] And by the way, those people knew more about planning and raising and harvesting Hemp than any other people who had ever lived in Kentucky. Of course. Ever.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:28:24] Of course. No, it's just it's just so amazing. And then just to give the listener sort of a picture of what it's what it's like Hemp. And after the harvesting and again, we're talking hard harvest, hard to lift. But on top of it, the combing of those vast fibers, the outer bark of the Hemp stock.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:28:47] And yes, you know where you're when.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:28:50] Yeah, when you're when you're talking about raising Hemp for its fiber and I'm talking here about fiber, what you've got to do is really planet, which is usually in April, it take it's a very fast growing plant. And, you know, in in four to six weeks, it's already reached 14 feet in height. And then once you cut it in order to. This is the first act of harvesting. You cut it. Then you stack it.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:29:29] And you stack it until probably November, when you then take it down and you start to break it and you break it so that you can release the fiber in it because it's the fiber you want and the fiber you release. Bye bye.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:29:49] Hemp breaks, which are devices simple, a simple wooden devices that simply break the outer shell of the plant and expose the fiber.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:30:04] And you garner the fiber.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:30:07] Indeed, you're talking about the breaking of the stock and so forth. So if you're listening right now, if you just want to Google later. Break and really see what that looks like. Now, of course, there was one more mechanized inventions in modern day, but we're talking about basically two giant pieces of wood that you are taking a Hemp stock, a very long Hemp stock, and you're lifting this piece of wood up and down, up and down, breaking it, banging it against that long, strong Hank stock. Two to, as you say, release the fiber, separate that outer bark, the blast from that inner woody core, the herd. And also, of course, it's back then for their purposes, maybe just for rope. There was this letting it stack until November. But bear in mind, in the modern day for various textiles and the many other applications and pens for nanotechnology and aerospace and and the superior used to graphene, et cetera, et cetera, that certainly we have different grades of fiber that are being developed and so on and so forth. So not all fiber is stacked, but certainly it was then and we're talking about that kind of manual labor. And I just want to make sure that I also have so visualize when I say the combing of that outer vast fiber. It's really picture and understand the repetitive shoulder injuries that had to have occurred, not just on the soreness that these people had to endure to carry this crop roof for for Kentucky. So the repetitive injuries just from the constant breaking and banging of the big heavy board, but then taking that long fiber, that vast fiber and slapping it like a whip, combing it over these beds of nails, essentially heckles is what they're called. But the nails were the comb of the vast fiber. And you're taking this heavy fiber and you're throwing it over your shoulder, slap through the nails, doing it again, slap through the nails and imagine the store. And even if you did that for 30 minutes, Ken, how that would feel?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:32:24] Just amazing.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:32:25] Right. But I want you to know, to join in everybody.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:32:30] That was the early pioneer and Kentucky. The early pioneer broad Hemp.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:32:38] And they raise it next to the fortified stations they built to protect themselves against British and Native American attacks. And those Hemp crops were raised the same way, but by those early settlers who used the Hemp to produce their clothes, their shoes, their bedding, their what would would be equivalent to rugs or carpets.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:33:15] They use them for everything. And all all of those people. So the early settlers, as well as the African-American slaves later did it the same way. And and all of them went through the same process. And it's just that because Hemp was so. Magnificently adapted to Kentucky's soil. It became a prominent crop. Financial crunch. And as a consequence, that led to a slave population helping to plant, grow and harvest it because it was so labor intensive. If you grew it commercially, which the pioneer didn't, but later the people in Kentucky did just like cotton. And so really, you could say that. But for Hemp, Kentucky really would not have been a slave state. Now, it would have been there would have been incidences of localized, small, very, very small in number, but it would not have been like it was in 1860.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:34:49] So, I mean, that's the way it is indeed.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:34:51] And like it's compared to states, Mississippi, Georgia, or unearthing more, I believe.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:34:59] But it was close because of Hemp, because Hemp records so much labor to plant, grow and harvest.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:35:09] And, you know, I and I so want to keep our our show for the listeners today focused on him. And also, if you don't know your history, you don't know your destiny. And which is, of course. Why not.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:35:22] Right. Exactly. That's great. Great. That's a great quote indeed.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:35:26] And of course, our own I love Bob Marley. But, you know, utilizes that quote to know your history, know your destiny. It's really a part of the whole Cannabis movement in all the different forms in front of you. You, sir, are such a beacon of light in really uncovering our history.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:35:43] And I just can't help but say here that understanding the the slavery aspect of of Hemp to say nothing of the slavery aspect of the foundation of this country and a Hemp was indeed part of that. We see that Hemp can be such a healing to the reclaiming of the land and the redistribution of wealth. And yet we have the farm bill of 2018 that legalized 10th as an agricultural commodity. Finally, a good yes. It's part of the sausage making process. That is legislation during during during the negotiation of within the Farm Bill conference. And as you well know, this is when the House version of the farm bill and the and the Senate version of the farm bill come together. And various representatives from the House and the Senate are chosen to be part of the conference and then it becomes their job to reconcile the two bills. Well, during that process, there was a compromise made because we wanted to expand the definition of Hemp to include extracts and compounds and derivatives and make it very clear to the DEA that there was no not going to be a single part of this plant that wasn't completely removed from the Controlled Substances Act. And yet there were some legislators, Congressman, who did not want that expansion. And part of the compromise that was made was that they wouldn't fight the inclusion of all of the parts of the plant within the definition. But then this is all hysteria. This is all THC, drug war, the failed drug war hysteria. They said, OK, we'll stop fighting you on that. But we want to add in a 10 year drug felony conviction prohibition so that if you had been convicted of a drug felony within 10 years of wanting to apply for a Hemp production license under a state or tribal or federal plan, you're automatically disqualified.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:37:45] And by the way, we'll make an exception if you already have a license under an agricultural pilot program. We'll grandfather you in. But if you come up with another drug felony conviction, then you're out again for another 10 years. So we're sitting here saying, and meanwhile, the cannabis industry, the adult use and medical cannabis industry are all over social equity. And but the Hemp movement has not come together in that way. And so here we have now that the promise of the delivery, the promise Hemp, which is this beautiful opportunity, particularly for the people who arguably it belongs to the most, are being told in federal law. Oh, you have been the most disproportionately impacted by the drug war. And also, as a bonus, you don't get to take advantage in any of the opportunities of the promise of Hemp like a double whammy.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:38:40] And, you know, Joy, that, you know, that is the one one reason why I have become interested in producing a film about the history of Hemp.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:38:54] The only way I believe it can ever, ever finally get recognize is if we produce a documentary film that will be broadcast everywhere. And by the way, this one will be everywhere on public television, particularly to tell people what this crop really is, what it has, what its history has been and what it can do. This is a crop that is there at the birth of the republic and has been there ever since.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:39:38] In enormous ways.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:39:40] Well, you know, what a great way for us to wrap up this interview and can't believe me. We are going to be having you on again by then because. Oh, no, I'll be delighted many, many times more. It is such a gift to have the incredible knowledge that you have about the history of the world's most versatile, valuable plant that is here to serve all of the needs of humanity and the planet and animals that when we say that this documentary, like your other eight Kelly award winning documentaries, is going to be seen all around the United States, it's actually going to be seen all around the world. Can we tell the listeners about the scope of the audience of the of that your films attract?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:40:26] Yeah, my my my films have attracted an enormous, enormous audiences. Let me give you an idea. We have a YouTube channel, like my foundation does, Witnessing History, Education Foundation. We've only been active in that since October of last year.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:40:46] And already we have over one point two million views. These are ordinary folk who, according to my web designer, are watching this on their televisions, not on some computer. They're watching it on their televisions and they respond. They send in comments and the comments are almost 95 percent favorable. They love what they watch. And it's it's the whole mission of my foundation is to get people to finally see something about American history and be entertained by it.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:41:34] And that's the whole mission of what we do. And it seems to be bearing out fruit just in the YouTube channel.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:41:43] This is really YouTube, obviously. That's completely huge. Let's talk about the scope of the audience outside of any form of social media whatsoever. And I thought you might even lead with that. OK.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:41:56] It's just incredible enough photos of every day. And that is here we are films. We have a partnership with Kentucky Educational Television. And that partnership includes they always broadcasting our films and they have four you for every year since 2007, 2006.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:42:19] They have broadcast every film with every excuse my dog who's got someone passed.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:42:28] But there is a little realism to this.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:42:33] But but more than that, Kentucky Educational Television has always taken our films and proposed them to the National Educational Telecommunication Telecommunications Association in Columbia, South Carolina. They are the catalog arm of PBS. And what they do is they take films that are produced for individual network affiliates, of which they are two hundred forty seven around the country. And they then say, I like those. We'll make them available to every other affiliate in the system. And our films are universally accepted by what we call NIDA, the National Educational Telecommunications Association. And they are universally a signal to every PBS network affiliates in the United States, the Virgin Islands or the District of Columbia.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:43:35] And for those listeners that don't know what PBS is that we're talking, the Public Broadcasting System.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:43:41] Public Broadcasting Service. Yeah, PBS. The you get them on TV. Television. It's the it's the Public Broadcasting Service of America, a publicly financed and they have two hundred forty seven affiliates in every state in the Union.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:44:01] And those two hundred forty seven affiliates have uniformly received our films as they're produced after Kentucky educational television broadcasts.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:44:14] What a service that you're doing. And and I again, am so grateful to be a part of it.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:44:20] Now, this is an entirely nonprofit endeavor that Witnessing History Foundation Inc is a five oh one C three nonprofit charitable foundation. And you don't do this to make money. You don't do this for any type of fame. This is your life's work. This is your life's purpose. To uncover the darkness, to tell the story and to bring it in a way, as you say to folks, that is not only as exquisitely vetted and accurate as possible, that is delivered to the viewer in a way that they can receive it and that they are open to receiving it. This is such a huge blessing, the seed and fiber of wealth. And right now, I know that you are looking for sponsorships again to produce this film, which I think you've estimated is going to take almost a quarter of a million dollars to produce and folks who might be interested in in sponsoring this film. And I know the very first sponsor and we thank you so much for that. This film is the US Hemp Roundtable based in Lexington. We're so, so honored to be a part of this. All they care about is seed and fiber of well, Scott, combat seed and fiber of wealth, dot com. That's the name of this documentary. And you can find out ways to be a part of this historical endeavor that is going to change the United States. And it's going to change the world. We learn so much about our. Sells through film.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:45:56] And you are a master storyteller of this reality, of our history. We're so, so blessed to have you in Hemp. Thank you very much, Joy. Thank you very much.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:46:07] Before we have you back on again, and believe me, as I said, can't. We're going to. What else would you like to make sure the listeners know before we say goodbye? Is there anything else?
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:46:18] Yeah. One thing. One thing.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:46:20] And that is we we don't make these films to make any money. We raise the capital, which is what we're doing with this film. We raise the capital in order to produce it. And then we provided to broadcasters, including public broadcasting, free. We provided to all kinds of cable networks free. We put it on cable channels free so that every one possible can watch our films without any cost to them whatsoever. We want people to understand American history of what we do.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:47:03] What a heart song. What a contribution. And again, just such an honor and a privilege to be a part of it and to be able to donate any of my skills and talents and resources to be able to tell this story with you.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:47:18] Thank you so much for being with us on Hemp Barons today. But we can't wait to have you back.
Joy Beckerman and Kent Masterson Brown: [00:47:22] Thank you, my dear. It's so good being with you again. Talk to you soon. Ken Murray on new.
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