Ümi Farms Is Serious About Social Equity

As cannabis continues to be socially accepted and flourish in the legal
market, the new industry must come to terms with the discriminatory and
damaging past of the failed War on Drugs. For decades, thousands of
citizens have been—and continue to be—unjustly convicted and incarcerated
and now live with the many societal disadvantages of a criminal cannabis
conviction. To combat these many disadvantages for a once crime that’s now
legal in some form in much more than half the US, progressive states are
implementing policies to include individuals from areas that were
devastated by the draconian policies of the decades-long failure of the
drug war. Known as social equity, these programs could provide
opportunities for lucrative business ownership in communities that are
often overlooked for economic opportunities.

A new cannabis brand out of Chicago has made social equity a cornerstone of
its corporate ethos while also combining and respecting the urban American
subcultures that pushed weed culture into the mainstream. Ümi Farms is a
parent company for cannabis brands specifically geared toward social equity
causes, including ÜMI retail dispensaries and the ÜMI Farms craft cannabis
cultivation facility. It was founded by CEO Akele Parnell, an attorney and
cannabis activist who’s deeply committed and entrenched in those very
topics on multiple fronts.

Parnell has served a number of legal and advocacy roles for various
cannabis companies and organizations. A graduate of Washington University
in St. Louis’ Law School, Parnell previously held the position of in-house
counsel for Green Thumb Industries and staff attorney for the Chicago
Lawyers’​ Committee for Civil Rights. In advocacy, Parnell has been
involved with Chicago NORML for half a decade and been a board member since
2020.

“Pretty much immediately after joining the industry, I wondered where all
the people from communities were that have been devastated by the War on
Drugs,” Parnell says. So, I set out on a mission to bring more folks like
me into the industry.”

Illinois became the 11th state to legalize medical and adult-use cannabis
on January 1, 2020, when the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act came into
effect. The state opened applications for new cannabis licenses later that
year, a historic measure that received more than 600 social equity
applications. Unlike other states’ flawed implementation of social equity,
Parnell describes Illinois’ approach as “robust” despite initial
challenges. “We were successful in getting licenses into the hands of
hundreds of social equity and Black and Latino-owned businesses,” he says.
“A lot is still left to be desired when achieving the process of social
equity. Hopefully, in the relatively near future, we can get to a good spot
where we can feel that we’ve accomplished the things we set out to.”
CEO Akele Parnel

Ümi Farms recognizes cannabis’ decorated legacy and the socially
restorative future that the plant could have. The name Ümi is quite
interesting from a language standpoint, as it translates into different
words in different languages, while the meanings all represent life. In
Japanese, “Ümi” means “ocean;” in Arabic, “Ümi” means “mother,”
“foundation” and “source.” In the language of the Mambwe people from Zambia
and Tanzania, “Ümi” translates to “life.” In his 1999 debut album, *Black
on Both Sides*, Mos Def included a song called “Ümi Says.” According to
Parnell, the name “has an important meeting to the cannabis ecosystem we’re
building.”

Lab 11 is the first brand launched under Ümi Farms. Parnell describes it as
their “ultimate brainchild.” “A minority and veteran-owned social equity
brand, Lab 11 is as diverse, dynamic and determined as the communities we
aim to uplift through the transformative power of the plant,” he says.

Inspired by the creativity of contemporary urban subcultures and a
nostalgia for the

golden era of the industry, Lab 11 celebrates the legacy of cannabis
culture—progressive, free, countercultural and provocative—all while
exploring it’s

impacts throughout time. “It’s our answer to a legal cannabis market full
of brands that don’t really speak our language,” Parnell says. “There
hasn’t been an opportunity for a brand to be brought by folks that are
immersed in these progressive, free and countercultural ecosystems and
environments in Chicago. It includes a lot of activists, a lot of
creatives, a lot of chefs, a lot of cultural workers and ultimately, that’s
what Lab 11 is about.”

The majority of Lab 11’s owners and operators were raised in communities
deeply impacted by previous drug policies, such as the Woodlawn
neighborhood in Chicago. “We’ve been doing advocacy for social equity
across the country pretty much the entire time we’ve been in the industry,”
Parnell says. “As the brand grows, we’ll continue to give opportunities to
people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted and
we’ll find ways to give back.”

Parnell says that Ümi Farms and Lab 11 will continue to partner with brands
and individuals who hold similarly advanced views on social equity and
further reforms from horribly damaging drug laws outside of cannabis. The
brand will also be creating a sort of mentorship program in the Illinois
industry, where those who are aspiring to work in cannabis will be paired
up with employees to receive on-the-job training.

“We’ll continue to build that ecosystem and that community and create a
safe place for people to come and enjoy the plant,” Parnell says. “We’ll
continue to find ways to build and increase social equity in Illinois.”

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