Memphis Coffee Roastery Aims to Reclaim African Roots and Build Community

Maurice and Renata Henderson, founders of the Memphis-based company Cxffeeblack, are utilizing their coffee business as a platform for community development and historical reclamation. Operating near the site of the former Lorraine Motel, the couple views their work as a redemptive mission that highlights the African origins of coffee, which they note were historically intertwined with the slave trade. By focusing on the production and education surrounding coffee, they seek to foster Black self-love and economic empowerment.

The company, established in 2019, operates a roastery and coffeehouse known as the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club. Through initiatives like the Specialist-in-Training and Barista Exchange programs, the Hendersons provide vocational education and facilitate connections between American and African baristas. The couple describes their business as a multi-disciplinary effort to resist what they term predatory capitalism in their Mitchell Heights neighborhood. Maurice Henderson, a former hip-hop artist, emphasizes that their goal is to use the coffee industry as a base to educate the public on themes of equality, fair trade, and the history of the African diaspora.