Kitti Murray is the founder and CEO of Refuge Coffee Co. in Clarkston, GA, which has been dubbed the most diverse square mile in America. With more than 50% of the population in this suburb of Atlanta being foreign born, Kitti and her husband found themselves intentionally among people who were very different from themselves and each other. As new empty-nesters, Kitti sensed it was time to embark on a new mission and Refuge Coffee Co. was born in a coffee truck inside their multi-national community. As she shares in this conversation, the path wasn’t quite so linear, but today, Refugee Coffee is providing job training and mentorship to employees who came to the U.S. as refugees and immigrants. The place is also one of belonging for neighbors getting to know one another better.
To see a bit more of what they’re doing over at Refuge Coffee Co., check out these stories on CNN from their first year and this update, this piece from Food & Wine magazine, and this video from the UN Refugee Agency.
Mentioned in this episode:
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It) by Robert D. Lupton
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…And Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion by Lamar Hardwick, a.k.a. The Autism Pastor, guest on Episode 080
Praying With Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing On the Streets by Lindsey Krinks, guest on Episode 084
My Vertical Neighborhood: How Strangers Became a Commuinity by Lynda MacGibbon, guest on Episode 089
You might also enjoy:
Episode 049 with Sarah Jackson on immigration in the United States
Episode 067 with Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil on biblical reconciliation in the space of racial justice
Episode 092 with Dr. Matthew Kaemingk on living peaceably with people who hold deep difference