SHORELINE, Wash. — A local Black-owned business was the target of a hateful crime for the second time in three months.
On Tuesday, the owners of Black Coffee Northwest found swastikas scrawled outside their Shoreline shop.
"It does hurt. It hurts a lot," said Mikayla Weary, "but I see it as a call to action."
Mikayla is just 17, and the president of Black Coffee Northwest. The family-run business hires and trains youth of color so they can one day open their own enterprises.
The owners are also very vocal about their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Just three months ago, someone firebombed the business with Molotov cocktails in an attempt to the burn the business to the ground. The person responsible still hasn't been caught.
Mikayla's mom, Darnesha, said the message being sent is to "get out," but that's not the message she's letting herself hear.
"We're needed here. They wouldn't be doing this if this community didn't need voices like ours," Darnesha said. "This place and this time and who we're serving, this needs to happen here."
Once word got out about the vandalism, the line at the drive-thru was 15 cars deep.
Among them, however, were people who made offensive comments to the kids working the takeout window, according to Darnesha.
"Why does it have to be called Black Coffee? We already know you're Black. Things like that," said Darnesha. "They are having to deal with terrible comments every single day."
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Black Coffee Northwest announced it is closing for the next two days to increase security and give workers some time to decompress.
"The things that my Black baristas have been said to them are DISGUSTING," wrote Darnesha in the post.
Despite it all, Black Coffee Northwest vows to stay strong.
"We cannot back down. We have to keep going," said Darnesha. "We're not gonna see the big change right now. It's generations to come. We want to keep the work going."
Black Coffee Northwest plans to reopen Saturday at 10 a.m.
Meantime, police continue investigating both incidents.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for the capture of the arsonist. Tips can be sent to investigators at 1-800-55-ARSON.
