The Dark Shadows of Coffee
Slaves at a coffee yard in a farm. Vale do Paraiba, Sao Paulo, 1882. / Marc Ferrez/Moreira Salles Institute Archive In America and at Cortez, all of us are immigrants who came from all ends of the earth for a better life for our families and us. Two exceptions exist: the Native people of the land, and the enslaved who were brought here in chains. Our society is built on their labor and their genocides. Colonial imperialists enslaved Natives and Africans to profit from coffee production for many generations. Slavery and indentured servitude through coercion, and inhumane labor practices still exist today. Corruption along the coffee network that cares about profit margins, but neglects human life has deep roots. Today, this could be explained by the distribution...