Grounds for Belonging

Grounds for Belonging is a photographic portrait of 321 Coffee, a coffee company in Raleigh, North Carolina that exists to provide meaningful, paid employment to adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The name comes from the extra 21st chromosome present in Down syndrome. This project documents the people, the rhythms, and the community inside their three Raleigh locations, and the larger promise those spaces are built on.

I came to this already knowing these people, really knowing them. What this project gave me was a way to do something with that. These folks already have power. They already have voice. What I had was access to a camera, a class, and an audience, and it felt like the right thing to do was point all of that in their direction. This wasn't about telling their story for them. It was about using the resources I had to help carry it further than it might otherwise reach.

About 80% of adults with IDD are unemployed. 321 is a daily, direct refusal of that number. I am proud of this work and I love these people and this company. I hope that comes through in every frame. And I hope anyone who spends time with these photographs leaves wanting to walk through that door.