Sherry Darby’s entrepreneurial journey: Impact, legacy, and community empowerment

Entrepreneurship: a universal term with countless perceptions. To Sherry Darby, being a successful entrepreneur means to leave an impactful legacy, to be economically sound, and to take risks for the greater good of a community. Darby is the proud founder of Be. Coffee Tea Wine, which is located in the Atlanta University Center (AUC), followed by a Kumon franchise in South Fulton, which is a math and reading learning center.

Throughout Darby’s matriculation at Spelman College, she majored in biology on the pre-medical track but later realized that was not her true calling. After graduating, she began working in the public sector as a teacher but felt as though she would not have a real impact on the world. Darby desired to shape the minds of tomorrow by preparing her students for the real world, however, this was hindered due to the restrictive curriculum. As a mother, she also recognized the importance of quality education for the youth. Shortly after this eye-opening moment, Darby intended on opening her own learning establishment.

“When I talk about having an impact, I don’t want to only teach you math and reading, but my mission is to also teach my students to give back and pour into their own communities,” Darby said.

However, she faced several obstacles on her journey. During the opening process, Darby’s higher-ups informed her that she must open her Kumon branch in their desired areas, rather than her predominantly Black community in South Fulton. Their justification was based on the assertion that she must open a Kumon center in a location where inhabitants are willing to pay for supplemental education, implying that the Black residents may not be inclined to pay for Kumon services because they are low-income.

After hiring independent demographers to assess the value of South Fulton’s citizens’ homes and income, it was conclusively demonstrated that the area possesses the financial resources to afford additional education. Darby victoriously established her Kumon in the Sandtown community in 2004.

“It almost defeated me because I knew I really wanted to do it. My son had done it, and I was just really into this program, and I knew what a game-changer it would be for specifically Black children. It was such a battle for me when they told me that I couldn’t do it, but I was going to find a way,” Darby said.

Twenty years later, Kumon continues to prosper. However, Darby made the choice to contribute to her community in a new way. She saw a significant presence of gentrification in particular areas of Atlanta, where different races are consistently relocating to historically Black communities, assuming ownership of their residences and businesses. While Darby appreciated the positive transformation of the community and the emergence of profitable businesses, she disagreed with the developers’ efforts to alter communities entirely.

In an attempt to be part of the solution, Darby opened Be. Coffee Tea Wine in 2023 in a development zone in the AUC. Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) sought to purchase the facility, but Morehouse School of Medicine fortunately acquired it instead, leaving Darby to lease space for her coffee shop. Being a Spelman alumna, she acknowledges the significance of Black students having their own space and understands that the atmosphere would completely shift if GA Tech took over the area.

Furthermore, Darby founded the coffee shop with the intention of fostering solidarity and providing a safe space for the West End community. Her goal is to celebrate AUC students, creating an oasis where they feel valued and appreciated.

“When I was younger, I didn’t really know any Black entrepreneurs or have any in my circle. Everything in my community was owned by other races, so I just didn’t think about it being a realistic option for me,” Darby said. “But one day, I realized that I have to do something different if I really want to leave a legacy for my children and want them to see things differently.”

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