We’re just 5 days away from the deadline for professional, Black artists to submit portfolios for a chance to be chosen to design our next limited-edition tea box. We thought this might be a good time to remind you why we care so much about the arts and especially Black artists. So we’re republishing a revised version of this blog from a couple of years ago.

If you read our blog or follow us on social media, you have likely seen various references to artistic endeavors we have, or are currently, pursuing. The tea box design contest, Kintsugi, sewing, refurbishing furniture, embroidery and the art-covered walls of The House are all examples of how we include exposure to and support of art in our daily tasks. But why? How does support for the arts help My Cup of Tea achieve its mission?

Here are 5 reasons we are intentional about incorporating art into strategy to improve the lives of Orange Mound women:

1. Arts are critical for community revitalization

As we told you in a blog post in June of 2021, there is broad agreement in the community development arena that art is essential to revitalizing a community. As a Princeton University working paper put it,

“The arts revitalize neighborhoods and promote economic prosperity. Participation in the arts improves physical and psychological well-being. The arts provide a catalyst for the creation of social capital and the attainment of important community goals.”

Bill Strickland, an activist and founder of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in inner-city Pittsburg argued in an NPR TED Radio Talk that exposure to beauty is critical to community change. He says whether music, painting, sculpting or dance, engaging with beauty on a consistent basis changes vocabularies, behaviors, and raises expectations for what is possible for the community to a new level.

Doing our part to help revitalize the once thriving Orange Mound neighborhood has always been a part of our mission, and therefore so is supporting the arts.

2. Creativity is important to health and healing

Referencing the trauma My Cup of Tea women have experienced is something we do often. We want you to better understand how remarkable it is they have survived and are making progress toward thriving. Overcoming that trauma is a process that can take many years. We pray together, recommend professional help, and incorporate art in our activities, like our  Kintsugi classes about which we’ve written.

"Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world." Christianne Strang, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham and the former president of the American Art Therapy Association told NPR in a 2020 interview.

The benefits are not limited to a single type of art, but extend to drawing, painting, knitting, cake decorating and a nearly unlimited list of possibilities. Participating in art can be healing for those coping with trauma but can also enhance well-being of those generally mentally and emotionally healthy.

3. Black artists are historically underrepresented

In 2019, a study was conducted by a group of mathematicians, statisticians, and art historians at Williams College together with Kevin M. Murphy, senior curator of American and European Art at Williams College Museum of Art, and Steven Nelson, professor of African and African American Art at UCLA, as reported by the digital news source, Hyperallergic. The study found that in 18 of the nation’s major museums, 85% of the artists represented are white and 87% are men.

We didn’t know about this study when we launched the tea box design contest last year, but anecdotally, we knew that there were Black artists doing amazing work who are virtually unknown. It is also true that Orange Mound is arguably the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States. We believed then, and now, that a Black artist was best positioned to represent the story of Orange Mound in the art for the tea box.

After a successful 2021 contest where we chose Andre’ Miller to create the art for our new tea box, we made the contest an annual event. The rules and rewards are the same, and the deadline is September 15^th for artists to submit a portfolio. If you know of someone who might be interested, please share this link: Tea Box Design Contest Entry.

4. Art helps imagine a more hopeful future

Overcoming trauma and poverty requires hard work and perseverance, but it also necessary to believe that a better future is possible. This is true of any of us facing a daunting task or a discouraging season in life. Art is one of the ways we can manage those feelings of despair and doubt and look to better days.

Dr. Girija Kaimal at Drexel University is an art therapy researcher who works with patients suffering with PTSD. Dr. Kaimal told NPR that she believes the brain is a predictive “machine” that uses information to decide what we will do next and what we need to do to survive and thrive in the future.

"This act of imagination is actually an act of survival," she says. "It is preparing us to imagine possibilities and hopefully survive those possibilities."

5. Art is a gift from God

How many photos on social media do we see from all over the world of magnificent sunsets, sunrises, or rainbows? How often have the world’s most renowned artists depicted the stars, planets, and the moon? Creation alone is the ultimate artwork by the ultimate Artist.

Throughout the Bible, the harp, lyre, flute, tambourine, singers – the art of music- are called for worshipping God.

In I Kings 6, King Solomon builds the temple according to God’s commands. It included intricate artwork such as carvings “with gourds and open flowers,” entire areas overlaid with pure gold, a pair of cherubim approximately 15 feet tall each made from olive wood and overlaid with gold, and carvings of palm trees and cherubim in the doors to the temple. These are a few of the detailed works that were included in the temple design.

Clearly, we have been blessed with the gift of art, so we desire to incorporate it in our daily lives.

Conclusion

As we said before, “beyond this single project, we envision future opportunities to empower and promote Black artists annually. Emphasizing the beauty and talent that exists in this historic community is essential to support its rebirth,” and the rebirth of the women we serve.

Retired Shelby County Commissioner Reginald Milton, commenting in the Commercial Appeal on the opening of the Orange Mound Gallery may have said it best.

“Art is a way to express our fears, our passions, our concerns, our anger. Art is unique, it is a gift from God to humans.”

  My Cup of Tea Mission:

Our mission is to walk with women beyond the boundaries of poverty and
neglect and assist them in building stable lives. We transform lives by providing
meaningful employment packaging and selling tea, nurturing cross-cultural,
trusting relationships, fostering respect and understanding, and prioritizing and
demonstrating authentic community with the women we serve and our
neighbors in Orange Mound.

Succinct mission statements are understandably necessary for a nonprofit mission such as ours, but required brevity belies the breadth and depth of our work.

When our son was in the first grade, he was asked to share with his classmates what his dad does for a living. He confidently reported,

“My Daddy cuts roses at work and brings them home to Mom."

His dad’s other job was owning and directing a paving company that built and maintained interstate highways.   

I recently realized that many who are connected to My Cup of Tea aren’t fully aware of our daily activities and how we fulfill our mission. We do more than sell excellent tea. I have compiled a short list here, so that you may be more conversant about our daily ebb and flow and more alert to the fundamental dependence we have on the several hundred generous people who give time talent and treasure to us.

 Our Philosophy

The House is a laboratory in which we are intentionally loving Orange Mound women through invested word and deed. Daily for about 12 years, two disparate cultures have been conscientiously connecting. We have galvanized an authentic sisterhood of support, friendship, and trust.

Single parenting in poverty for a Black woman in a crime-ridden zip code is unfamiliar to us who are living North, East, and West beyond the crime tape and ubiquitous sirens that assault our senses when we are here.

Only God has brought us to this genuine reflection of His Kingdom we call The House in Orange Mound where what we have in common in heart has replaced our shallow differences.

 Our Daily Activity

• We work exclusively with women who live in poverty in Orange Mound. Almost all are single parenting children and/or grandchildren.
• We do not recruit as women in need find us or hear through word of mouth that our door is open and the welcome mat is out.
• We daily intend to model and guide each woman to a deeper understanding of the Gospel. All are currently unchurched and inexperienced in the riches of the Bible.
• Most of our employees receive government assistance. We are committed to reduce that percentage.
• Cooking, gardening, cleaning, and other domestic activity is demonstrated, shared, and assigned.
• Respectful social communication and problem solving is constantly practiced.
• There is an emphasis on gaining a Christian world view, as most are underexposed to life beyond their primary and immediate priority of survival.
• All of the women have chosen mentors who are leveraging their broader network for solutions to problems and providing prayer, advice, and loyal friendship.
• We have hired over 100 women in the ten years we have been a business. Currently we have 11 employees.
• Over 50 volunteers work among us, bring lunch, and assist us in entrepreneurship training for the ladies who are growing in skills beyond their My Cup of Tea employment.
• We advocate for all of our women who are challenged significantly with sub-standard rentals, domestic violence, chronic poor health, legal and financial problems, and unreliable transportation.
• We have partnered to build 4 houses on our city block and provided financial and legal pathways for the ladies to qualify to purchase them.

Our Tea

• Our tea is top shelf, imported from the Far East and blended before it comes to us. 
• Our director is a tea master, and expert on all variables of the teas we import.
• Our marketing and development is in the capable hands of a genius.
• The ladies have simple but dignified jobs with minimal skill requirements to package and label it for sale.
• We sell our tea in all 50 states.
• Our tea is sold in 24 retail businesses locally and at The House.
• The Christmas Season is our busiest. Original and creative tea gifts are extremely popular and our top sellers.
• We were chosen as Google’s Tennessee Small Business of the Year.
• We operate our mission for the ladies on tea sales (40%) and the remaining 60% is based on grants and donations.

 We also grow roses and bring them home for ourselves.

Christmas in August?

That’s how we feel. The anticipation of receiving that special gift – the one we knew we would receive eventually, but the waiting caused us to doubt – is behind us. Today, we break ground on the four single-family, rent-to-own homes we’ve been telling you about for more than two years.

When we say, “we” what we mean is all the partners who made this possible celebrating together at an official groundbreaking at 824 Semmes at noon. My Cup of Tea didn’t bring these houses to fruition alone. In fact, there is no guarantee that any of the ladies at The House will be moving into the new homes, though a few will be eligible and plan to apply. What is certain is that in a few months four families will be living in quality, affordable housing that they will have the opportunity to own. That’s a big deal for those families and for the Orange Mound community.

The process began with a simple donation. Carey and Rick Moore donated the empty lot at 824 Semmes. The lot had been purchased when they launched My Cup of Tea across the street at 823 Semmes as a potential site for expansion. The lot was donated to United Housing, a local nonprofit with an exemplary record of building affordable housing for the purpose of ownership throughout Memphis and Shelby County. United Housing has effectively and persistently led the project to this exciting stage of development.

In August of 2022, the Gannett Foundation awarded us $25,000 to fund “soft costs” – those expenses that are not part of the actual construction. We also raised an additional $17,000 from individual donors to cover these expenses.

While we were fundraising for soft costs, the team at United Housing was executing the long and tedious process of receiving various government approvals and applying for a federal grant through the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development and securing financing through Bank 3. The grant was eventually awarded to United Housing and the financing secured.

Last February, we hosted a public meeting at The House with United Housing and Bank 3 to seek neighborhood feedback. There were no objections to the project, only excitement about new housing options.

While we waited for approvals, plans, and funding, we revisited our financial literacy training in which every My Cup of Tea employee participates and focused on the fundamentals of homeownership and what it takes to secure a mortgage. Our partners at Regions and United Housing worked with ladies to shore up any issues with budgeting and credit.

At the beginning of this year, the bid package was prepared and advertised and a general contractors was chosen. A few more i's were dotted and t's crossed to bring us to this moment.

When the ribbon is cut at approximately noon, we will hear from Mayor Paul Young and the crowd will be comprised of representatives from United Housing, the City of Memphis, Congressman Cohen’s office, Bank 3, the architects, engineers, general contractor, donors, volunteers, and the My Cup of Tea ladies. We are not breaking ground on FedEx Forum or Tom Lee Park, but we will be smiling ear to ear just the same.

It’s been slow and at times hard work and included many partners, but making a real difference isn’t easy and rarely does anyone do it alone. So, if you happen to read this blog before noon, join us for this much anticipated celebration and wish us a “Merry Christmas.”