Stories
Profiles, place stories and social enterprise stories from DeKalb County.
From Trainee to Owner: Refuge Coffee's Pipeline
Clarkston's most-covered refugee social enterprise; directly ties to diaspora entrepreneurship pathway,
Six Storefronts, One Trailside Hub
Concrete, visitable cluster of refugee-owned small businesses — ideal for a walk-through feature
The Welcoming DeKalb Roadmap: What Happens Next
Directly shapes county-level policy support for African/Caribbean diaspora entrepreneurs; a Dear Network audience needs to know if/when this becomes real funding
Farm Roots: Burundian Growers Who Started Global Growers Network
Rare origin story of African diaspora agricultural entrepreneurship rooted specifically in Clarkston/Decatur since 2010
Stone Mountain's West African and Caribbean Restaurant Row
Identifies a concrete commercial corridor combining Nigerian and Jamaican-owned restaurants worth a joint feature
Start:ME's Clarkston Cohort: 2026 Graduates
Concrete, dated, sourced program outcome directly relevant to diaspora entrepreneurship pipeline reporting
CalaBar & Grill: Sisters Building a Caribbean Lounge in Stone Mountain
A dated, named, sourced founder story (Jamaican sisters Shauna and Kerry Wright) — rare concrete attributable narrative found in this pass
Microloans in Motion: DEBCO and IRC's Refugee Lending Track Record
Two concrete lending institutions serving DeKalb/Clarkston diaspora entrepreneurs with quantifiable track records worth deeper reporting