AUBURN – Since Kyla Clapper posted on Facebook Live about her journey from her childhood in Brock, Neb., to her return as an adult to become the first black person to own a downtown business in Auburn, the public reaction has been trenchant.

She perceives a surprise government inspection of her temporarily closed business, the Hallowed Cinque, as the result of being singled out and targeted. Facebook removed her first reactions after there were complaints, but her next post gathered over 158 comments of support within hours.

Clapper: “So, for those of you that are tuning in for the first time, Hi, I’m usually not this crazy.  I’m Kyla and I’m a coffee roaster, or at least I was until about 40 minutes ago. Here in Auburn, Neb., I owned the first black-owned business here and I am experiencing racism. And I’m tired of being quiet about it.”

 

Besides supporters, one consistent reaction from the public has been to tell the 34-year-old entrepreneur that her struggles are rooted in some cause other than racism.

Clapper: “Not that. Anything but that!  And I’m saying okay, then what. Then what? I’m here, I’m kind, I’m contributing. I have amazing food, I serve amazing coffee. All I want to do is exist.”

 

 

She said local officials did not warn her about the need for expensive fire suppression sprinklers that are commonly lacking in the aging downtown buildings, but she had enough in savings to finally pass inspection for fire safety and the commercial kitchen.

The shop, where she sold cinnamon roll pancakes and crepes, as well as her roasted coffee, was so successful she and her husband, Allen, bought an adjacent portion of the building to expand.

She voluntarily closed during renovations, but agreed to re-open for one day to host the Auburn Theatre Department’s Sunday Brunch. The day prior to the fundraiser, a state inspector arrived to inform her that she could not sell the coffee she roasted at home, even if it were at her own business and even if it were for charity.

From a business standpoint, it was just another hurdle for a woman who suffered a tragic house fire as a youth, raised her surviving siblings and thrived in the transient lifestyle of a military wife. Over $2,000 was raised for the high school's theatre department and Clapper is determined to commercialize her roasting operation.

From a cultural standpoint, however, the episode convinced Clapper that the coffee shop could never endure in Auburn with her art and her dreams, as long as it has her face.

Clapper: “I think it’s a really heavy, hard topic. The experience that I’ve had growing up here, being here and the micro-aggressions, the systemic racism, the blatant targeting that has gone on throughout my life hasn’t changed.

“I’m going to be really, really honest. People can’t ever tell me why someone would target me, other than my color.”

Kyla was raised by two Caucasian women, her grandmother and great-grandmother. She said she felt loved beyond measure and the tight-knit rural community of Brock was kind and supportive. She never felt any different and didn’t know she would be treated differently.

 

I don’t want people to think I’m relaying that everyone here is racist ... that's not true

Clapper

 

Clapper: “When I got to school, other kids already knew that I was a black person, that I was the N-word. They already had the language in kindergarten for that. So, what does that say about the people who were raising those specific children?”

Clapper does not claim the food and safety inspections were improper and says she would have complied all along had she received reliable information, but says she feels the push of racism.

Clapper: “It was very clear from the start that people were very hesitant. I thought it was just because, you know, like I was new back to the area. I had been gone for a while, so I took a few years here to really try to integrate into the community and show people who I am and what I’m about, what I want to do and what I want to support.”

Clapper: “One thing I don’t want people to think and one thing I don’t want people to think I’m relaying is that everyone here is racist. I said that in my Facebook post. That’s not true.

"There’s a huge culture of kind people that come through my doors, that sell-out my food. They are extraordinary humans, but, when there is a segment of people who target people of color, treat them differently, use jokes that are inappropriate, make comments in public about their hair or the color of their skin, it makes the environment intolerable.”

She posted on Facebook that her building will be used for other purposes and she is looking for a supportive town to roast her coffee.