Kennedy Orr Wants to Create a Cannabis Industry for the Culture

glamour.com:

By There’s an old adage that says, “You don’t choose HBCUs; HBCUs choose you.” For Kennedy Orr, that couldn’t have been more true. “I knew that in my heart I wanted to go to an HBCU,” the 19-year-old says. “I don’t care where it is as long as it's an HBCU.” For Orr, it was simply a matter of selecting the university that could help cultivate her interests.Born and raised in Chicago, Orr landed on Southern University and A&M College, the largest HBCU in Louisiana where she felt the institution’s robust agricultural programs would bolster her purpose.

Orr is a USDA/1890 National Scholar, a coveted honor that promises full tuition, books, and room and board to HBCU students for up to four years.

As an agricultural business major, the sophomore plans to make inroads toward a more equitable cannabis industry.While states are swiftly legalizing marijuana for medicinal and recreational intent, the African American community (often the target of the egregious war on drugs) has yet to capitalize, careerwise, on the burgeoning market as long-standing economic racism splinters their opportunity. “I know in my home state it’s been difficult for Black people and minorities of all colors to get their licenses and open up their businesses,” Orr says.

According to a 2021 , Black-owned dispensaries make up only 2% of America’s estimated 30,000 cannabis businesses—a glaring disparity.Orr is still figuring out where exactly her advocacy will take her professionally—law school and policy are top contenders—but on campus she’s cultivated an impressive résumé.