By: Dennis Richmond, Jr.
“Hemp and marijuana are like first cousins,” Kayvon Philip-Reid explained to me. “Marijuana is used for recreational use, while hemp is for recreational use and industrial use.” Kayvon Philip-Reid, 26, is a native of the village of a Tuckahoe. Tuckahoe is less than two miles long. A first-generation West-Indian American, Philip-Reid is a cannabis CEO and educator. He is the founder of the health and wellness business, RePhil. RePhil is a small eco-friendly business that provides hemp-based products. His business’s goal is to examine the advantages of using hemp products.
Philip-Reid found himself in Yonkers during the Black Lives Matter protest that occurred in June of 2020. During the event, he networked with other young people. After building new friendships, Kayvon found himself making frequent trips to the city. He volunteered to hand out food to those in need and recruited people to assist him with RePhil. All the while, Kayvon fostered relationships with politicians in the community.
Philip-Reid is just as much a part of Yonkers as he is Tuckahoe. A graduate of SUNY Purchase, Kayvon earned a degree in economics and psychology. Before entering in business for himself, he worked in construction. It wasn’t until taking a trip to the Caribbean country of Grenada, where his mother’s from, that he had an awakening. “I had a resurgence of my roots,” he said. He began his official journey of getting back to a natural and holistic lifestyle. In no time at all, RePhil was born.
RePhil grew legs in Mount Vernon, New York. Diligently piecing things together, Philips-Reid did his homework and learned everything there was to know about hemp. He wanted to be as self-sufficient as possible, so he tried to do most of the work alone. After facing manufacturing issues in New York, he felt as if he only had one choice. To chase his dream, he picked up his things and moved to Georgia. Westchester County, New York, is almost 880 miles away from Washington County, Georgia, but Kayvon made the journey. It was just him and his dog, Champ.
Upon arrival in May 2021, Philip-Reid lived on acres of land that he leased. All that was left to do was farm it. The only issue was that there was nowhere to stay. There was no home to return to, no hotel to stay in for free, and there were no relatives to call. Kayvon decided to set up a tent. “I slept in a tent for 100 days,” he said. It was “me, my hands, my willpower, and Champ.” After days of hard work, his profit turned into him breaking even with everything that he did.
Now that harvesting is over, Kayvon is back in Westchester, and he’s awaiting his newborn child. He told me that “there’s a tight-knit community of hemp farmers.” Kayvon is one of the only Black hemp farmers in New York, and he’s looking to teach students across the county about nature. “I enjoy seeing the process of things grow,” he said. “Reconnecting with nature is the purest form of therapy. In the world we live in today, our children need as much comfort as can be. Many of them can find it in nature.
Dennis Richmond, Jr., is an author and journalist focused on the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ Community. He has covered HBCUs periodically for six years at Yonkers Rising. Richmond lives in Yonkers. Follow him on Twitter @NewYorkStakz.
