When I walked into this sunny café in my neighborhood, the first things my eyes were drawn to were the displays of spirulina and spiced popcorn and DVDs about James Baldwin, the Harlem Renaissance, and legacies of slavery and oppression. I met Atiya Ola (the owner) who walked me through the array of her house-made fresh juices and caringly described their health effects. I ended up choosing two 8 oz bottles of turmeric juice ($5 each) also containing Irish Moss, pineapple, apple juice, lemon, citric acid and filtered water. There was artwork by local artists on the walls. Atiya Ola put on an apron for the photo I took of her. We stood outside in the sun afterward chatting in front of her business.
In both life and studio/community practice I pay particular attention to stories of unfreedom and racism in the U.S. and Canada. I find empathic resonances with, and points of entry into, ethnic communities with whom I work—and with whom I do not share the same ethnic identities—by sharing my own family's experience of mass incarceration and loss in Canada and the U.S. during WWII. In Atiya Ola's cafe, I found both a familiar heavy-heartedness ("I can't breathe") stemming from everyday racism and violence, and a brightness and vision of resilience and healing.
In both life and studio/community practice I pay particular attention to stories of unfreedom and racism in the U.S. and Canada. I find empathic resonances with, and points of entry into, ethnic communities with whom I work—and with whom I do not share the same ethnic identities—by sharing my own family's experience of mass incarceration and loss in Canada and the U.S. during WWII. In Atiya Ola's cafe, I found both a familiar heavy-heartedness ("I can't breathe") stemming from everyday racism and violence, and a brightness and vision of resilience and healing.
One Large participant: KS
Name of black-owned business: Atiya Ola First Spirit Foods
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Race/ethnicity of participant: Asian Canadian
Name of black-owned business: Atiya Ola First Spirit Foods
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Race/ethnicity of participant: Asian Canadian
