The Rural We: Tiffany Garriga
An activist, business owner and mother, Hudson's Tiffany Garriga speaks hard truths.
Tiffany Garriga is not only City of Hudson Alderwoman of the 2nd Ward and the Majority Leader for the past seven years, but also a business owner of Moisturize Me line of products And she is vice chair for It Could Happen 2 You, as well as a board member of Columbia Opportunities representing Hudson. She is also a mother of two. I wanted to talk to her about her journey and destination.
JC: Thank you for speaking with me, Tiffany. Let’s start with your background in Hudson.
TG: I was born and raised in NYC, and I’ve been in Hudson for so long, about 22 years, that my friends and family tell me that I’m really from Hudson. I love it — it’s a nice place to raise children.
JC: From a personal perspective, what are some of the things you are challenged with as a mother, as a woman, and a woman of color?
TG: When I moved to Hudson, I didn’t have any children, so the biggest challenge for me, was to “blend in,” so to speak. You try to get to know the people, because everywhere you go, the dynamics and the lingo are not all the same. The biggest challenge for me was racism. It was in my face. It’s not about you reading about it in the newspaper, or incidents on the news, it is actually here in Hudson. The difference is, it’s so quiet, and the subject matter is quiet, but everyone knows it’s here, alive and breathing. We all, from generation to generation, learn how to survive.
JC: What do you think people don’t understand about you personally?
TG: I speak hard truths, I’m very blunt, I’m boisterous, and what brings me down is when people try to shut me down because of who I am or judge me with their perceptions. I’m also like a flower with beautiful petals, and people don’t realize that, as you pull away each petal, I’m dying. People don’t understand that I’m depressed, truly. I come from a family of older women, and they’ve pretty much all passed away, and the remainders are not even in the state. It’s not like I can just walk next door and see them, so even though I created my family in Hudson, I miss my family. I had the pleasure of growing up with my great grandmother. She had three daughters, my two great aunts and my grandmother. My background is Black and Hispanic. I was raised by my Hispanic side of the family.
JC: I do know that you have a hair and body product line called Moisturize Me. Can you tell me a little about the products?
TG: The product is organic butters, infused with natural oils, and it keeps your hair and skin moisturized. I have custom-made soaps, lip gloss, sugar salt scrub soap, and more. I learned to combine oils through my grandmother, making things for her hair, and also to be honest, I figured I had to do something. I helped a lot of people and am grateful for that, but I needed to help myself, and figured now is the time.
JC: Can we talk a little about Black Business Month in Hudson, which was in August. Where did the idea come from, and can you share some of the organizations that participated?
TG: The inspiration really came from my daughter. She watches me do my different crafts at home, and she said “Mom, you should start a business.” I had to learn how to pitch business to investors, and the steps needed, for entrepreneurial business. That company is called Hudson Community Incubator, and now we are working together to help other minority entrepreneurs. We had people reaching out to me through my Facebook page. We had the Galvan Foundation sponsor this event. Columbia Opportunities were also a sponsor.
JC: What do you think people aren’t connecting to, and what do you think of your actions when it comes to supporting and engaging the community of color?
TG: The experience of encountering racism face to face, as in the City of Hudson Police Committee Meeting in 2016 the video you saw. It was a room of all white people who were angry about me defending Black lives. How can you be offended about someone defending Black lives? If that isn’t racism I don’t know what is. I will not apologize as a Black Hispanic woman, I would never apologize for being an example to my children, especially my daughter, for standing up for herself. I will never apologize for the work I do for my community, paid or unpaid.
JC: Let’s switch gears and talk a little about Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition and the Community Organizing notes.
TG: The Black Lives Matter mural in Hudson is located right in the Black community. There’s the daycare center and the Black church. When tourists come in off Amtrak, they see it and know that Black Lives Matter here. The Catskill side just shows you what we have to deal with. In Catskill, they are very proud to show their true colors, and they do not want to acknowledge or represent the better half of their community which is Black people. It’s like being in the 1950s. In Catskill, they say Blue Lives Matter, but back in the 1950s it would say No Niggers Here.
JC: Columbia Opportunities is another organization where you are a board member representing Hudson. I read through the goals from 2017-2022. Would you say that there has been achievement on these goals?
TG: There is a very good job being done with helping low-income people at Columbia Opportunities. This organization has been in Hudson for many years. They offer literacy programs for many children, advise people who have issues with heating bills or renter issues, and provide meaningful tools for people in the community.
JC: The final question is in two parts: What is the mis-education of the businesswoman Tiffany Garriga, and personally, what is Tiffany Garriga most thankful for?
TG: I am misunderstood, because I’m extremely passionate when I speak, and so people sometimes take offense and may feel like I’m yelling at them, but that’s not the case. I hear it all the time: “You’re yelling at me” and my response is, “If I was yelling you would know the difference.” I’m Black and Hispanic — that’s what we do. I am such a depressed person that it’s hard to sometimes see the good things, but I am most thankful for my accomplishments in the community and within the state. My accomplishments as a mother? My son graduated high school and my daughter is in her senior year at college. I suffer from epilepsy and I’m still here. I’m grateful to work with some amazing people, and we continue to seek change for the people and I’m proud of that.
