ATHENS, Ga. — Breaking barriers in the business world can take generations to overcome. Isaiah Smith's big break came at Creature Comforts. The Athens brewery is one of the largest craft breweries in the country.
Smith believes beer is Black history, noting origins of the alcoholic beverage dating back hundreds of years. Historically, the beer industry has not looked like Smith.
"Less than 1% of breweries in operation right now are Black-owned," Smith said. "There was a huge gap in the market, specifically for the type of beer we were making, leveraging ingredients that spoke closer to our palette."
After experimenting with brewing on his own, Smith and his family started Our Culture Brewing with a connection to the land in mind. Smith gravitated toward using ingredients like molasses and sweet potato, items with a traditional tie to African-American culture.
"I think there's a lot of synergy in grabbing the freshest raw materials from the great stewards of the land and taking that and honoring that in the beer we produce to yield a great finished product," Smith said. "This is just another way to showcase that and I think we’re just trying to be intentional about that relationship so we can help build more Black farms by sourcing raw materials from them.”
Christina Hylton is one of the farms from which Smith hopes to source ingredients. Hylton owns Iron Lion Farm in Oconee County, just a few miles outside of Athens. The farm spreads over 60 acres wide on land once used for sugar cane. Hylton now grows produce like strawberries, onions and garlic. She also raises chickens and goats on the property. She and her husband's work connects them to Black history as a nod to the past, a need for the here and now and a notion to leave a legacy.
“I’m always mindful of that and the labor, sweat and tears and sacrifices that went into that kind of work," Hylton said. “Being able to expand on that idea and have this amount of land and be a steward of that land, I’m always honoring and thinking about the ancestors that came before us, those that tilled the land, indigenous folks."
The landscape for Black business owners looks a lot more promising moving forward from Miguel Lloyd's point of view as vice president of marketing and communications with the Atlanta Black Chambers. The group helps link more than 1,000 businesses across more than 30 counties.
"Under 3% of contracts are going to African-American businesses in a community that's well over 40% African-American," Lloyd said. "We have to try and figure out how to change that."
However, the potential is already there, he said.
"We have a thriving entrepreneurial community here with African-Americans in this market. It’s no longer about being able to work with your hands. You’ve got to work with your mind, so there are a lot of opportunities with computers, in the electrifying America opportunities," he said. "It’s not like it’s coming, it’s now.”
Lloyd said those connections could break barriers for minority business owners, such as access to funds, training, and collaboration. Those barriers, he said, have created a big gulf between rich and poor communities.”
Fenwick Broyard III, vice president of brand impact at Creature Comforts, said when he's not thinking about world domination, he's leading the charge to support minorities in creating new business opportunities and chances to contribute new ideas to longstanding industries.
“I bring a perspective no one in the room is thinking about," Broyard said. "Some of that is a function of my race. Some of that is a function of the types of experiences I’ve gotten to have in my professional life, which aren’t limited to craft beer. What if we create an opportunity for someone to come join our staff, do what they do while we teach them how to do what they want to do, then we’re opening up pathways for equity to be achieved in the industry.”
Broyard said if he can help save future generations from making the same mistakes he and others have made, they'll reach success sooner. It's how Smith, who has a supply chain background, got his start in the beer industry at Creature Comforts. As much as he would like beer to continue to be a part of Black history, Smith wants beer and business to be a bigger part of the future.
“We can’t do it unless we work together," Smith said. "We’ve seen our community, because of systemic racism, disenfranchisement, a lot of issues that have created gaps in our ability to be self-sustainable. I think it's vital we collectivize and band together and assist one another so we can build infrastructure, so the people coming behind us don't have to struggle as hard to get to where we're at."
11Alive invites you to embark on a journey of unapologetic stories that have shaped Atlanta's past, present and future this Black History Month. Check out our collection of stories: "DREAM x DISRUPT: Black Atlanta's Bold Movement" at 11alive.com/blackhistory