Inside Her Story: ‘We’re Unapologetically Black’

It’s no secret that racism is still alive and well in this country and that the story continues to live on. L.A.McCray is the latest victim of this when her Black empowered brewery, Black Starline Brewing, in Asheville, NC became the victim of white supremacy. Jacque Reid goes Inside Her Story to find out what happened.

“We just opened up on October 12. So we closed on the business on October 12. We had our bar warming on October 26. We had our grand opening on November 11. And two days after Martin Luther King Day we shut it down,” explained McCray.

Founders of the Sweet Beer Movement, McCray explains the roots of Black Starline Brewing. “We’re a grassroots family centered brewery launching a social movement and nation building by inspiring determination and incubating other social enterprises practicing collective economics embodying collective healing and liberation.”

“We’re unapologetically Black, ” expressed McCray of her business. And because of this she believes that her small  town wasn’t ready.

“In our small town of Hendersonville I just think it was too much. That coupled with institutional and systematic ways that white supremacy undercapitalized us from the beginning and set us up for failure along with you know just not having the support we needed in the actual community,” explained McCray.  “Death threats, hate messages, people breaking in all the time, vandalism,” followed the business.

If you’d like to follow McCray’s story and find out more about her business head over to BlackStarlineBrewing.com.

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Inside Her Story: ‘We’re Unapologetically Black’  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com