Samara Davis to Discuss ‘Breaking Barriers in Bourbon’
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 12, 2022) — The University of Kentucky will welcome Samara Davis, founder of the Black Bourbon Society, to campus for a conversation about her work in digital media and how she has helped to reshape Kentucky’s bourbon industry.
“Breaking Barriers in Bourbon: Digital Media, Diversity, and the Black Bourbon Society” will take place at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, in the Singletary Center Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Davis will discuss her success as a social media influencer and culture creator by explaining how she leveraged her work in digital media to found the Black Bourbon Society and the nonprofit organization, Diversity Distilled. Her work in both areas has helped to reshape Kentucky’s $8.6 billion industry to be more inclusive of Black Americans.
Davis' visit to UK is part of UK Libraries’ Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History’s “Women in Bourbon Oral History Project," and she will participate in an interview while on campus.
“Samara Davis' success story as the founder of the Black Bourbon Society and Diversity Distilled is both empowering and inspiring for aspiring entrepreneurs and especially validating for Black women,” said JWells and Janice Fernheimer, both faculty in the UK Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies, in a joint statement. “Interviewing her for the Women in Bourbon Oral History Project as part of the Black Women in Bourbon Initiative will not only document her powerful story but also create materials, resources and mentorship models that help Black women navigate predominately white male spaces like the bourbon industry.”
The event is part of the UK College of Arts and Sciences' Passport to the World series. This year’s theme is the “Year of Culture Without Borders.” The event is sponsored by the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies; the Martin Luther King Center; the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies; and the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.