The only thing necessary to assure the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.

As an industry whose very existence relies on the labor of frequently marginalized groups of people, I believe there is shared responsibility to push back now against the rising tide of unequal justice, randomly applied law, and cultural discrimination now emanating from our Capitol. We cannot remain silent in the face of draconian and ham-fisted decrees like the recent ban on immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries. After all, we buy coffee from one of those countries: Yemen. Moreover, coffee production would crawl to a standstill without the migratory pickers who move across borders during harvest seeking work. Today we heard from a farmer in Mexico that there are not enough pickers around for him to properly harvest his crop. The pickers he employs in Chiapas come predominantly from across the border in Guatemala. Recently the Mexican government, in an effort to keep up with new American demands about border security, has tightened controls to the point that our friend may be forced to scrap his entire crop simply to save his trees for later seasons.

Royal Coffee refuses to not take action. I am proud to announce three ways that Royal and our employees will fight back by making donations to the American Civil Liberties Union. Two of our current Crown Jewels were produced in countries with substantial refugee populations: Yemen (sold out) and The Congo (sold out). We donated 100% of the revenue from the sale of both these coffees to the ACLU. Moreover, between now and the Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle in April, we will donate $1/lb from the sale of ANY Crown Jewel in our inventory, up to $12,500. Additionally, thanks to our friends from Sprudge, an industry-wide call for donations has gone out. Sprudge and Royal Coffee have both pledged to match $500 donations from 25 companies each. Last and perhaps most encouragingly to me, the Royal employees have taken up their own collection and will be making a donation to the ACLU composed entirely of their own money.

While this is undeniably a dark time for freedom, let’s use this moment to rally around the values that make this country great. Please consider making a purchase of a Crown Jewel, and help us fight this fight together. Because together, we are too powerful to ignore.

#YESEQUAL #REFUGEESWELCOME