Black History Year - Tito Jackson

We often write these pieces to highlight the achievements of Black people in the cannabis industry, and those achievements are often within the industry.

While Tito Jackson is no exception, his accomplishments outside the industry are even more impressive, even though his list of cannabis successes is getting long!

This is the cannabis industry we work in, however, so let’s start with the incredible things Tito has done there first.

Apex Noire, the First Black Owned Dispensary in Downtown Boston

Mr. Jackson, like many Black owned cannabis businesses, didn’t just prop up Apex Noire overnight; rather, it took three long years between when he thought he would open and when the fateful day finally came.

It’s a literal achievement worth noting that he was able to even cross that threshold while generating no revenue for those years.

However, he has not only been successful in getting it opened, he represents the first Black owned dispensary in Boston, located near Faneuil Hall, one of the most trafficked locations in Boston.

Apex is a 7-story dispensary, edibles factory, bar and rooftop lounge. This is no small corner store with a green cross (no hate whatsoever intended to those amazing businesses). This is, as they like to describe it, an “experiential cannabis dispensary.”

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Apex is not merely Black owned, it’s staffed 80% by people of color, 20% of which were previously justice-impacted citizens with a record in Massachusetts. This business is giving opportunities to the exact people the social equity movement in cannabis has intended to serve.

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Service is Not New for Tito Jackson

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As you’ll see, service is woven into the very fabric of Apex Noire because Mr. Jackson has devoted his life to public service.

He was born to two prominent community activists, Herb and Rosa Jackson. Oftentimes the children of community activists live a life of service as modeled by their parents, as we see with Tito. 

After beginning a career in the medical and communications fields, he served for 9 years on the Board of Directors for Global Citizens Circle, which supports peace initiatives from the grassroots up by fostering discussions between ​ordinary people doing extraordinary things, world leaders and Nobel prize winners.

He went on to serve in the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development under the administration of Governor Deval Patrick. There he helped create 2,500 jobs in Massachusetts.

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Next, he ran a series of political campaigns, winning a seat on the Boston City Council for District 7, sitting on multiple committees like the Committee on Education and the Special Committee on Transportation, Public Infrastructure, Planning and Investment among three others.

He ran for Mayor of Boston in 2017 and lost. He spent three months serving as a 

Social and Family Justice Fellow with Parenting Journey before focusing on getting Apex Noire up and running shortly thereafter.

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The Impact of Apex Noire

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Mr. Jackson’s impact isn’t just felt among the patients and customers in need of medicine and access to cannabis, it’s rippling across his community. He’s hiring from the communities most impacted by the War on Drugs, and he’s even providing free financial literacy classes to staff.

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After Apex Noire’s opening, several city council members and others had incredible thoughts to share on what Mr Jackson and Apex means to Boston. We’ll share a few of their quotes here, sourced from The Bay State Banner:

“I would like to see more of these types of dispensaries that are going to be sustainable and thrive,” said at-large City Councilor Julia Mejia, who is sponsoring an upcoming hearing on diversity in Boston’s cannabis industry.  “Unfortunately, Black and Latino communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs are still being left out of the process.” 

“Hiring people who have been traditionally on the other side when it comes to prosecution or possession … It is beautiful to see” said another At-large City Councilor, Ruthzee Louijeune.

Cannabis Control Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion said about Mr Jackson that “Tito has really made it a point to go above and beyond in terms of making sure he hires a staff that is all-inclusive and really seeking people who have experience in the cannabis industry, even legacy experience — prior to legalization. He understands that not only is there an opportunity here, but also the fact that they are well-qualified and might have more experience than other people.”

Join us in celebrating the achievements of Tito Jackson and Apex Noire!

You can follow Tito on LinkedIn here, Instagram here, or visit Apex Noire’s website here.

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