When you think about the spaces that hold the greatest impact on the black community, it is often you reach for spaces that make you feel comfortable in who you are and what you believe in. Today we honor the spaces of black business owners who create space for black people to exist freely in their own stories and experiences, Portrait Coffee, The Braided Life, Radical Hood Library and The Colored Girls Museum.
Photo Credit: Portrait Coffee
Portrait Coffee - Atlanta, GA
Portrait Coffee is a specialty coffee brand established in 2019 on the West End of Atlanta, GA. From the very beginning their company focus has been to pour a new narrative in the black community and the way coffee is experienced. When you think of coffee, Portrait wants you to remember to include black and brown folk existence. No longer will we be cropped from the photo and shifted out of the narrative, this socially conscious brand deserves the honor for their part in creating black spaces. Co-founded by Erin fender, John and Shawndra Onwuchekwa, Marcus Hollinger, and Khalid Smith.
Find more of Portrait Coffee by clicking here.
Photo Credit: The Braided Life
The Braided Life - Austin, TX
The Braided Life, also known as The Braided Haus, officially opened in East Austin in November 2021. The braiding salon particularly aims to reclaim and revive the Black hair experience with a focus on Black women, trans and non-binary people. Driven by the need to reclaim black narrative, this space was created with playfulness in mind. The Braided Life understands the importance of a black hair experience and it’s effects on a woman’s self-confidence, to many getting one’s hair done is a form of connection to their roots. One that founder Milly Fotso wants to make sure lives on beyond her and her brand.
Find more of The Braided Life by clicking here.
Photo Credit: Radical Hood Library
Radical Hood Library - Los Angeles, CA
Radical Hood Library, a Black-led, Los Angeles-based literary liberation project that was created to service Black and brown people. The Radical Hood Library is stocked with books on various topics including Black resistance and imperialism — all available to the public for free. Aimed toward cultivating a safe space for people of color to read books by people of color. Founded by poet and musician Fatimah Warner.
Find more of Radical Hood Library by clicking here.
Photo Credit: The Colored Girls Museum
The Colored Girls Museum - Philadelphia, PA
The Colored Girls Museum is a memoir museum, which honors the stories, experiences, and history of ordinary Colored Girls. This museum initiates the object—submitted by the colored girl herself, as representative of an aspect of her story and personal history, which she finds meaningful; her object embodies her experience and expression of being a Colored Girl. Founded by Vashti DuBois.
Find more of The Colored Girls Museum by clicking here.
