These Portraits of Detroit’s Black Bartenders Celebrate Their Dual Identity
Curated by longtime Detroit bartenders, Double Strained Collective made their launch with the ’29 Days of Black Bartenders’ photo series.
“When we started, we were doubtful that we would even find 29 black bartenders in the city to profile.” – Raven Love, Double Strained Collective
The Instagram spotlights black and brown faces in Detroit’s Foods and Craft industry. Edwards, along with co-founder Raven Love (pictured above), launched their venture during Black History Month, with 29 Days of Black Bartenders, a beautifully photographed series that not only shows faces of bartenders of color, but also sheds light on their story.
“When we started, we were doubtful that we would even find 29 black bartenders in the city to profile,” says Love, a mixologist who pens the content for Double Strained.
But, things quickly spiraled into an abundance of profiles and has since cultivated a community for bartenders of color, where their identity is exalted and celebrated as a significant aspect of the food and beverage industry.
“We want to take a moment to actually, see you for who you are and tell both sides of the story,” says Edwards. “Yes, you are a bartender in the city of Detroit, but you also are this very complex person with very complex thoughts with creative talent and creative expressions. So the mindset of it is, to be able to tell the tale of two cities.”
The collective’s name is also linked to the concept of the double-consciousness, familiarized by W.E.B. DuBois. Within this context, double strained aligns with double straining certain cocktails in the mixology industry while also referencing DuBois’ philosophy in relation to identity.
“It’s always the identity at the forefront and then what exists at the back of your mind and as black bartenders and bartenders of color, we can never just be the one thing in the industry,” Love expresses. “I am a bartender, but I’m also a black woman and those two identities, they co-mingle in a way that’s a very unique experience for me every single day behind the bar.”
Click the player to hear CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire in conversation with Double Strained Collective and see more portraits below.
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