Black History and the Coffee Industry Today
Reiko Piekarski, Director of Coffee Programs | Fortuna Enterprises, LLC
Coffee is Black History
Popular Ethiopia legend suggests that the discovery of coffee was made by a local goat herder sometime in the 9th century. The first records of coffee brewing, however, date back to the 1400s amongst Sufi monasteries in Africa. As traders and travelers tried the dark and mysterious brew, news spread to the rest of Europe. By the 1600s, coffee consumption was popularized by the coffeehouse culture in cities like London, Paris, and Amsterdam. As the demand for coffee rose, so too did the desire to capitalize on the production. The Arabian Peninsula had the coffee market locked down, only exporting roasted beans and not the raw seeds. European powerhouses observed the great potential in revenue and wanted in on the action. In 1616, Dutch spies stole and smuggled a coffee plant from the port of Moka in Yemen to begin cultivation of the cash crop in their various colonies. The Dutch traders quickly established themselves as major players in the coffee trade utilizing the same trade routes used for spices and other fine goods.
In August of 1619, enslaved Africans aboard The White Lion made the long journey across the Atlantic and landed in Jamestown, Virginia. French naval officer Gabriel-Mathieu de Clieu is credited with introducing coffee to the Caribbean by transporting the plant which was a descendant of harvests handled by slaves. By the 1700s, the colonial powers in Europe imported slaves from Africa to labor on plantations in the Caribbean, Asia, South America, and Central America. British colonies in the Caribbean provided outposts for slave traders to supply human labor for both sugar cane and coffee plantations; the history of sugar is closely tied to coffee as it was a cheap sweetener that made the bitterness of the brew more palatable.
Forced labor propelled the French-occupied island of Haiti to supplying half of the world’s coffee supply in 1788. French traveler J.H. Bernardin de Saint Pierre questioned the ethics, stating, “I do not know if coffee and sugar are essential to the happiness of Europe. I know well that these two products have accounted for the unhappiness of two great regions of the world: America [The Caribbean] has been depopulated so as to have land on which to plant them; Africa has been depopulated so as to have the people to cultivate them.”
Between the years 1501-1855 10.7 million Africans survived the dreadful Middle Passage, landing as slaves in the New World. Only 388,000 arrived in the United States, while a staggering 4.8 million were directed to Brazil to labor on coffee plantations. Brazil’s coffee production took off in the 1830s, requiring black and indigenous slave labor to keep up with the demand. Coffee became Brazil's largest export, accounting for roughly 30% of the world coffee supply at the time.
Meanwhile, in the early 1800s, Rose Nicaud emerged as the first known mobile coffee vendor in New Orleans, eventually buying her freedom with the money she earned. It was not long before Rose was able to set up a permanent location in the French Quarter. She not only inspired other free women of color to start their own coffee carts in the city during this period but also paved the way for well-known establishments like Cafe du Monde.
The impact of events that took place decades and even centuries ago can still be felt today. Until The Trade Facilitation and
Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, import of goods made by children or forced labor continued through a loophole under the Tariff Act of 1930. This archaic act included
two words, “consumptive demand,” which effectively allowed import regardless of
practices due to insufficient supply in order to meet consumer demand. An amendment to this dated act was signed into law by the first African-American
President of the United States. To learn more about how the Trade and
Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act impacts coffee, click here.
The fact of the matter is that unfortunately, slavery did not exactly end in the year 1865. Instead, the concept evolved and continues to perpetuate the racial inequality which is experienced and witnessed every day. If we choose to shy away or maintain silence about these injustices throughout history, we are complicit in these practices and are bound to repeat the same mistakes.
Ongoing Learning Process
Needless to say, the information shared here only skims the surface of what we know of history. Unfortunately, much is lost to time. The common thread of coffee’s bitter history, however, continues to weave racial inequality into the systems and founding principles of powers including the United States. So how do we collectively move forward from these toxic practices? Learning is the first step in this action and, in some instances, it may involve unlearning dated or incomplete information. Awareness and understanding of the roots of the problem will help direct us toward a solution benefiting the mutual good. This ongoing learning process will involve taking steps to eliminate racism at the individual, institutional, and structural levels.
As the coffee industry has recognized its own shortfalls in under-representing the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community, there has been an emphasis on education and training to nurture an environment that promotes better representation and diversity. Recently, the (Un)Learning Club: Coffee and Colonialism provided an educational platform for coffee professionals to collectively contribute to positive learning. Speakers, like Bartholomew Jones of Cxffeeblack and Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports and author of Strong Black Coffee, provided perspectives to the history, inclusion, and representation in the industry. With all the discussions and resources zeroing in on the subject matter, intersectionality was often at the center of focus. This term is used to refer to the complex and cumulative way that the effects of different forms of discrimination combine, overlap, and intersect, especially in the experiences of marginalized people or groups. Developing a better understanding of how these harmful systems connect sheds light on the complexity and the greater impacts of our actions.
Mindful Impacts and Intentions
Doing the work to understand structural, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized forms of bias will help gain the forward momentum necessary for building equity in the coffee industry. In 2018, the US Coffee Champs implemented unconscious bias training for judges and competitors in an effort to identify and create awareness of implicit bias. Head judge Lauren Lathrop headed off this training initiative to address human decision-making which could rear its head in insidious ways, despite our best intentions and deliberate efforts. Unless we draw attention to these subconscious thoughts, we cannot make the efforts to prevent these biases from clouding our impressions. Even large coffee corporations like Starbucks closed down locations for a few hours to focus on implicit bias training for their staff members after an unfortunate incident at a Philadelphia location. In addition, Starbucks announced their Community Resilience Fund which is setting a goal to expand initiatives focused on developing opportunity, racial equity and inclusion in their surrounding communities.
Then there are also initiatives like Glitter Cat Barista, which empowers underrepresented groups in the coffee competition platform, nurturing increased visibility by sponsoring and supporting those who would not otherwise have the opportunity. Getchu Some Gear is a non-profit group that has gained support from companies to help get equipment to baristas and business owners in the BIPOC community who may not have the same access to the tools of the trade. Courage and leadership are team efforts, so we need to work together to create more space for individuals who are just as passionate in participating in the industry but are not given the same opportunities. Diversity within the collective also provides different perspectives on the platform which only enriches the industry. Representation shows that there is a place at the table for everyone to share common interests; the coffee industry needs this level of inclusion in order to move forward.
The Path Going Forward
Racism and discrimination affect people on a mass level, but can be undone if approached properly. By organizing for a common cause, we can become better allies for our fellow black coffee professionals and develop a more complete understanding of the injustices instilled by history. We need to fully acknowledge the colonialism trauma inflicted on the BIPOC communities and progress forward in a space beyond absolute capitalism, which has historically treated human life as a commodity. In order to move forward in developing more equity in the industry for all individuals, we need to work together to support one another as equals not because it is trending for a month but all year round.
Resources
To help continue the journey of learning and unlearning
The (Un)Learning Club: Coffee and Colonialism
Roast Magazine: Strong Black Coffee
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World by Mark Pendegrast
Discussing
Coffee's Black History
The
Former Slave Who Opened the First French Market Coffee Stand, Rose Nicaud
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
NPR Starbucks Training Focuses on the Evolving Study of Unconscious Bias
Starbucks to Close Stores Nationwide for Racial Bias Education
Working Theory of Change from Equitable Evaluation Initiative
Why
should we drink cxffeeblack?
Bartholomew Jones No Sugar, No Cream, Brew Better
Sprudge List of Black Owned Coffee Companies to Support
Podcasts with Perspectives
Cascara Podcast with Cydni
Patterson
Seed to Cup Podcast with
Michelle Johnson
No Free Refills Podcast
with Ezra Baker and Tymika Lawrence
A Better Table with Umeko
Motoyoshi
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