Jesse Williams. Kayla Oaddams/Getty Images
Jesse Williams wants the world to know about Black businesses changing the game.
“It is my duty to shine a light on all things Black that are positive and constructive. That’s just what I choose to do with my energy,” Williams, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Sunday, July 28, red carpet premiere of Distilled. “It’s something that’s actionable, it’s inspiring, it’s innovative, it can turn the corner for a 15-year-old, a 25-year-old, a 35-year-old, [to say], ‘Oh, that’s doable. Oh, that’s a real thing. I can touch and feel it. I can affect it.’”
He added, “We know it takes work to work with your own family, have a family business and not chew each other up and spit each other out. You had enough of each other? What does it take to stay together that long and really thrive and shine? … We all know that we’ve all had our lives changed by little forks in the road, little pieces of information or inspiration. I’m just trying to put out as many things into the world that can uplift us and free us.”
Distilled is one of the projects that highlights Williams’ calling. The AMC+ docuseries premieres on Thursday, August 1, and chronicles Black-owned spirits brands. Williams serves as the project’s executive producer.
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“I’m really proud of and excited about this project. There are personal elements [because] half my family’s from the deep South and has suffered land loss,” the Grey’s Anatomy alum told Us. “But on the entrepreneurial side, it’s a really inspirational story. There’s a wonderful amount of family businesses around this country that are able to not only hang onto their land, which is a very difficult thing to do but to make use of it in a way that is making award-winning incredible products that are being received and lauded by their respective communities. It’s something to be proud of, too, and also to get under the hood of how they did it, what they’re doing, the keys to success, best practices.”
Williams called Distilled an “updated reflection” of working-class individuals, specifically working in the wine and spirits business.
“It’s a big business. It is born out of — all of it has to come from the ground,” he said. “It’s an agrarian endeavor and we have our hand in it.”
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While the spirits industry is a large consumer entity, there are challenges to break into the market.
“It’s an interesting thing after George Floyd, it was very fashionable for people to ‘support black folks’ and then they go back to normal,” Williams said, referring to the Black Lives Matter movement spurned after Floyd was killed by a police officer in 2020. “It’s very similar to the post-racial era of Obama. Like, ‘Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet?’”
Despite certain “appeals” to being a Black-owned business, Williams acknowledged that the spirits industry is a competitive entity.
“This is a capitalist engine, and people are trying to crack through in every form of libation that we have,” he explained. “All we can do is tell a wonderful story [and] tell an honest story. And most importantly … it’s an incredible product and award-winning product.”
Williams added, “When you can really stand up and be proud about something, you know, you’re not asking for favors. We’re already winning; they’re already winning. It’s just interesting. It’s a good opportunity for us to be able to highlight it.”
With reporting by Mariel Turner
Distilled premieres Thursday, August 1, on AMC+.
