The stereotypes surrounding black women make it impossible to feel our emotions the same way our white counterparts do.
By: Mili Mansaray, Washington Square News.
New York is exhausting, college is distressing and life is heartbreaking. We all know this. Life’s highs and lows can bring you to the peak of ecstasy or drive you to the point of depression. If Johnny doesn’t get his dream job, or if his sports team loses, we allow him to be upset.
But imagine a woman that is not in the business of smiling for strangers on the street. And if the woman conserving her emotional availability is black, the image is almost unfathomable. Black women being forced to repress their emotions reinforces a negative stereotype stemming from racism and sexism, one that we need to dismantle.
Sol Sips, a tiny vegan restaurant hidden away in Bushwick, is popular with customers coming from all over New York City due to its homey atmosphere and affordable pricing.
“There is definitely a cultural aspect here,” Anisa Matthews laughs over her Chick’n Biscuit Sandwich. The most popular menu option, the sandwich includes fried mushrooms slathered in a fresh strawberry jam. Overhead, the speakers gently entrench the tiny space with RnB music while customers sip on cups of complementary lavender infused alkaline water, a glass pitcher placed atop all three tables. “You can see them making the food in the back, you can smell the kitchen, you see who they are,” she says. “It all reminds you of your aunts and your grandma making food in the kitchen.” Matthews travelled about 40 mins from Soho to eat at Sol Sips after hearing about it on Facebook. This is not uncommon, as the restaurant is frequented by customers from various ends of New York City, many of them having seen the restaurant on social media.
“I live quite far away, so I usually come on the weekends or if I get off of work early,” says Taylre Nwambuonwo. Her job alone is about a 30 minute train ride to the restaurant. Nwambuonwo encountered a post about the owner on Instagram, and since then has returned five times. “The food is great and it’s black owned and woman owned and I’d travel even further for that,” she says.
Opened in April 2017, Sol Sips was founded by 22-year-old college student Francesca Chaney. The young entrepreneur was raised by a vegan mother, and after moving out, she began living off of home-made fruit juices, eventually selling them, according to a profile done by Elle.com. Her endeavour became popular, and thus, Sol Sips was born. Located on 203 Wilson Ave., the menu contains various vegan dishes ranging from $8-$13 and freshly made fruit smoothies and juices, priced from $6.50-$9. The wellness community can be really classist,” Chaney told Essence. With her restaurant, where she is also the main cook, she seeks to make vegan meals more accessible to underprivileged communities.
Mili Mansaray 