When Starbucks closes its shops Tuesday for its planned all-day racial-bias training, some consumers will be scrambling to find somewhere else to get their daily jolt of caffeine. A group of black-owned coffee shops in Philly—led by a black-owned coffee company—are encouraging consumers to patronize black-owned coffee shops around the country.
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Red Bay Coffee is a black-owned, woman-led coffee company that will host a roundtable discussion focused on both how to stop retail racism and how to support black-owned businesses. The roundtable will take place Tuesday, May 29, at Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse in Philadelphia.
Joining Red Bay Coffee at the roundtable will be local black coffee shop owners, activists and innovators, including Marc Lamont Hill, Ariell Johnson, Blew MaryWillow Kind, Pam Africa and Shantrelle P. Lewis.
The goal of the roundtable is to bring attention to the larger implications of what happened at Starbucks, promote the importance of inclusive and fair business models as a way to advance racial justice, and encourage people in Philadelphia and on social media to support black-owned alternatives to Starbucks.
As such, there will also be a tour that day of three other black-owned coffee shops in Philadelphia—Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books, Little Jimmie’s and Franny Lou’s Porch.
Red Bay Coffee was founded by black entrepreneur Keba Konte, and its staff consists entirely of women, people of color and formerly incarcerated people. The company also uses a unique business model that invests in its employees and in their community by paying above minimum wage and using profit sharing.
The details for Tuesday’s event are as follows:
What: The Black-Owned Coffee Shops #CoffeeWhileBlack Roundtable
When: Tuesday, May 29, 2018, at 9 a.m. EDT
Where: Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse, 2578 Frankford Ave.
The coffee shops tour:
• Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse, 2578 Frankford Ave.
• Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books, 5445 Germantown Ave.
• Little Jimmie’s, 6669 Germantown Ave.
• Franny Lou’s Porch, 2400 Coral St.
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