The Charlotte Post THURSDAY,Li DECEMBERf 17,e 2020 SECTION! B Consortium aims to foster racial healing FAMOUS TOASTERY Justin and Kim Griffith, owners of a Famous Toastery franchise in Center City, rebounded from laying off 30 employees due to By Ashley Mahoney the pandemic when customers responded to their call to action in support of their Black-owned business. [email protected] Charlotte’s colleges are striving to rewrite the narrative around race. Johnson C. Smith University, Queens University and UNC Charlotte were awarded a $20,000 one-year Outpouring of support grant through the Association of American Colleges & Universities as a Truth, Racial Healing and Trans- formation Campus Center to create the Charlotte Ra- cial Justice Consortium. Johnson & Wales University and Central Piedmont Community College joined in keeps restaurant serving the summer. “It is our way as the academic institutions, which Customers step in to help Black-owned eatery weather the pandemic are cornerstones in the community, to rewrite the narrative around race in this city, to reimagine what By Ashley Mahoney you get to see the other side of it fiths selected an option on Yelp race can look like and to provide a [email protected] and coming back down to reality. that identified the restaurant as pathway for us to pull in other in- I lived in a world where when you Black-owned. Yelp sent a sticker, stitutions to begin creating that Justin Griffith knows how to get went to the airport you had police which they made visible on a win- On The Net change to create equity and ready for high-pressure situ- escorts and your hotels were dow and also posted on Instagram taken care of, but when March hit, https://diversity.unc true social justice across our ations, but 12 years in the Na- on June 4. At that time, civil un- reality set in and you saw real life c.edu/charlotte-ra- community,” JCSU Master of tional Football League could not rest was spreading across the na- cial-justice-consor- Social Work program director prepare him for 2020. things where people were de- tion after George Floyd was killed tium Melvin Herring said. The former fullback played for pending on that next paycheck to by police in Minneapolis, Minne- The schools created the Char- the Atlanta Falcons, Oakland (now make it happen.” sota. People demanded more than lotte Racial Equity Fellows Pro- Las Vegas) Raiders and Seattle Sea- Griffith, like many business lip service and statements from gram, which consists of 24 students, at hawks from 2003-09 and went on owners, had to furlough employ- companies about the value of least four from each campus. Students went through to coach with the Raiders. In 2018, ees – 30 total. To-go orders did Black lives. Many an application and interview process, and the vision he and his wife Kim became Fa- not produce the same profit to re- made economic is for the inaugural group fellows to mentor the next mous Toastery franchisees at 330 tain the entire staff. moves, delib- On The Net class. S. Tryon St. Their restaurant is “The only thing I could correlate erately spending www.insta- “The ultimate goal is that these students are going conveniently located on one of with that was as a coach, watching their dollars at gram.com/fa- to do this work wherever they end up, because it has the busiest streets in Uptown, players who did not make the Black-owned moustoasteryu to be continued,” JCSU communication and theatre with frequent foot traffic from football team walk out of the businesses like ptown professor Cindy Kistenberg said. “It’s not just a one- people heading into work, grab- locker room,” Griffith said. “They Griffith’s Famous shot. We know that. We have 400 years of systemic bing a bite with friends and had to put everything in a trash Toastery. racism in our society that is not going away, but we family, or enjoying a meal before bag and move on with their lives, “We saw nearly a 50% increase in have to find a way to change things. The universities a Carolina Panthers game. or try to make a different team.” sales on the weekends, where now are a great place to start this work, and then to go Then COVID-19 created a drasti- Griffith felt the weight of having we had people waiting in line on out into the community. We don’t have an ulterior cally different look in Charlotte’s to upend the lives of his employ- the weekends,” Griffith said. “We motive. We are about educating people. That is it. previously bustling center city. ees. miss our customers. We want to That’s why this is such a great group and a great “That was devastating,” Griffith “The letters are coming in the be right here when everything is place to start to try to heal the city and eventually said. “Kim and I love people. We mail where I had to confirm that back to normal.” help heal our nation, because God knows it needs it.” love our employees. We had a this employee was laid off at this Throughout the pandemic, the The 13 leaders are actively seeking out additional really good system going. I have time and hired at that time so they Griffiths donated meals to first re- grant funding to sustain the program to provide been blessed throughout my life can receive appropriate benefits sponders and the needed. They training for their fellows, create community events, to have the opportunity to play in from the federal government, that also partnered with Freedom bringing in experts, purchase necessary equipment the NFL for eight years and I was was a reality check,” Griffith said. House Church to provide meals to and create a website, which is currently housed by also blessed and fortunate “We were dealing with something a local women’s shelter. UNCC. Fellows also receive a $2,000 stipend which enough to coach for four years. that was way more than I had ever As 2020 winds down, the goal is Twelve years of my life I had the experienced in my life.” to take it one day at a time while Please see COLLEGE | 2B opportunity to be part of the NFL. They have since been able to re- still enjoying the holiday season Sometimes you get caught up in hire 23 employees. with their sons Brody age 10, the bubble that you are in and The business also saw an in- Dylan, 7, Logan, 4, and Ethan, 2. Avoiding the your professional career and then crease in support when the Grif- holiday blues By Alphonso Gibbs Jr. Tea bar a space to unwind and commune FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST The six weeks encompassing Thanksgiving, Christ- By Ashleigh Fields mas, and New Year’s—collectively called “the holi- FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST days”—are for most, a magically unique The Pauline Tea Bar Apothecary is time of year, filled with holiday carols, a space that embraces every soul reunions, displays of colorful lights, that enters with savory tea and love, and affection, often expressed soothing therapy upon request. through gift giving. It is a place where every emotion For the better part of 2020, we have evoked is welcomed to be ex- all been impacted by the Covid-19 pan- pressed, which was the goal of demic, the stresses brought on by racial owner Sherry Waters. Gibbs tensions, and the political dramas of the The bar was named in honor of 2020 election. Now, we have to make Waters’ grandmothers, Pauline and hard decisions on whether to gather with our loved Lena, whose peaceful presence al- ones for the holidays, or continue to socially dis- ways seemed to offer transfor- tance from them until we get the all clear. mative restoration. In part because For some, the holidays bring hurt. Caused by fac- of their steadfast spirits which drew tors such as those already mentioned, along with the strength from the Bible. weather (seasonal depression); extended separation, Like the Pauline circle of friends death, financial stress, unemployment, unrealistic that the Apostle Paul encounters expectations, hyper-sentimentality, guilt, or over- throughout his ministry the tea bar spending. Holiday depression—also called the “holi- was structurally created to be an SHERRY WATERS VIA TWITTER day blues”—can zap the merriment out of even the open invitation for communal fel- Sherry Waters is owner of Pauline Tea Bar Apothecary. most wonderful time of the year. Now, one must lowship with God, engaging in acts gatherings it also accepts much An Asheville native with a bach- make hard decisions on whether to visit, whom to of hospitality and love. While the needed conversations at the Pauline elor’s degree in communications visit, and how to prepare for the visit—such as get- space has been used to host bible fellowship table which almost al- from UNC Chapel Hill, a certification studies, birthday parties, and artist Please see AVOIDING| 4B ways include Waters. Please see TEA| 2B «RIDES Presto, change-oh! Kia redesigns Optima into the sporty K5 By Winfred Cross All K5s at least look like quietly. The eight-speed trim pieces that are a bit SPECIAL TO THE POST my test car. Aside from a transmission is buttery and chintzy. Overall, it gets an color that looked like kicks down quickly when A-, being stylish and com- What’s in a name? Not primer instead of paint asked. It does not drive as fortable. The cloth and much if you are Kia.