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C

Many coffee producing nations drink

tea. Isn’t that odd? The truth is that

coffee can often be very expensive, and

it is a luxury item that not everyone in

developing nations can afford.

Starting the Conversation er system that dates back to colonial days, and are still disad-
vantaged by a lack of market access.”
The coffee industry has a dark history that is often hidden He argues that in order to create a more equitable coffee
or glossed over. The reality is that coffee would not be where industry, we must first understand and acknowledge the ways
it is today without the slave trade and colonialism. It is import- that colonialism has shaped it.
ant to acknowledge this history and learn from it, in order to Recently, I had the privilege to interview Phyllis Johnson,
create a more inclusive industry for everyone. Many of us like President of BD Imports & Founder of The Coffee Coalition
to think that just by acknowledging the past, we are making a for Racial Equity. Phyllis and Patrick Johnson founded BD
difference. But that is not enough. Acknowledging the past is imports in 1999, a company specializing in importing green
only the first step; we also need to take action to change the coffee from socially responsible sources. BD Imports is known
present and create a better future for all. for its advocacy of gender equity and its support of women
The first step is to actually talk about it. Too often, the coffee producers. The company is also committed to promot-
coffee industry paints a rosy picture of its history, without ing racial equity within the coffee industry. In 2020, Phyllis
acknowledging the dark reality of how coffee was actually founded the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity (CCRE), a
grown and harvested. This needs to change. We need to have non-profit organization dedicated to furthering these goals.
honest conversations about the role that slavery and colonial-
ism played in the coffee industry, and we need to do better in
the present. Why don’t we talk about European-owned estates
Phyllis Johnson
in Brazil and the Caribbean that used African slaves to farm
coffee? Why don’t we talk about how indigenous populations
in Central America were forcibly evicted from their land and
made to work on coffee estates?
What’s more, many coffee producing nations drink tea.
Isn’t that odd? The truth is that coffee can often be very ex-
pensive, and it is a luxury item that not everyone in developing
nations can afford. It is important to acknowledge all these
facts, but it is also important to learn from them. Because the
impact of slavery and colonialism is still being felt today. For
example, coffee farmers in Latin America face a variety of
challenges due to the legacy of colonialism. Small farmers lack
market access and power compared to wealthy landowners and
expats who can withstand tough times. This has created a
situation where small farmers are struggling to survive while
larger businesses thrive.
In his 2019 article, Acknowledging the Impact of Slavery
and Colonialism in the Coffee Industry, Martin Mayorga looks
at how these power imbalances continue to affect coffee farm-
ers today, “The small farmers have inherited an unequal pow-

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