Imagine Wilmington in the years after slavery: a growing port city where Black Wilmingtonians were building businesses, buying homes, raising families, and creating thriving communities alongside white residents. Black Wilmingtonians were gaining political influence and building professional networks that strengthened their place in the city. Together, they built something remarkable—a community where Black economic success, interracial relationships, and shared investment in the city could flourish.

Drink: latte with dark chocolate and white chocolate (hot or iced)

Not everyone was pleased with this progress. White supremacists organized to stir fear of African Americans, suppress Black voting, undermine Black businesses, and ultimately overthrow a duly elected government—the only successful coup in U.S. history. The Daily Record, the state’s only African-American-owned and operated newspaper, became a major target for challenging the harmful narratives being used to divide the community.

Drink: Flat White with a house made smoky maple syrup topped with cardamom. (hot only)

What does survival look like when the place you call home becomes unsafe? In the days after the coup, Black Wilmingtonians hid, fled on foot, left with whatever they could carry, or were forcibly driven from their homes. George Carter Peamon, a Black barber, husband, and new father, was forced onto a departing train and escaped by jumping from it, only to be reported dead. His story invites us to imagine the impossible choices people faced simply to survive and protect those they loved.

Drink: Latte or Matcha with house made spiced apple syrup and caramel sauce

In our 20 years of working in the Southside, we have seen the ripple effects of 1898 permeate our city’s culture and infrastructure. We also see the faithful work of descendants of massacre victims and many others working to restore our city. This drink honors those building, researching, and caring for our community today—and invites you to join them.

Drink: Matcha or Latte with sweet potato syrup and marshmallow cold foam (recommended iced)

The story: Your friend’s mom invites you to have a poll day with them at Legion pool. Covered head-to-toe in coconut-smelling sunscreen, you’re trying t make the biggest cannonball.

Song: ‘Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Drink: A tropical iced latte made with mango and topped with a coconut cold foam.

The story: You, your siblings, and neighborhood friends set up a lemonade stand to raise some money for your schools sports team in the fall.

Song: ‘Freedom’ by Beyonce

Drink: We teamed up with Blendsations Beverage Bar and paired their Fresh-N-Simple fresh squeezed lemonade with our Kenyan cold brew.

The story: It’s a hot day and you’re at the basketball courts on Dawson and the older kids ask if you shoot hoops. You run at the opportunity after slurping down some watermelon.

Song: ‘Basketball’ by Kurtis Blow

Drink: An iced matcha, local honey and Blendsations Beverage Bar fresh-pressed watermelon juice.

The story: After long days of heat, you’re at the courtyard in Jervay when rain finally pours. Now, you are your friends are making dirt cakes with each other.

Song: ‘Where’d All The Time Go’ by Dr. Dog

Drink: Think dirt cake with espresso. Best enjoyed iced (also available hot), this 8oz drink includes espresso, milk, house-made vanilla and chocolate sauce, topped with chocolate cookie sandwich crumbs and a gummy worm.

Sophia Henry is a Southside resident, born and raised. Her and her husband, Thomas, own and operate Cake Man Bake’s and their new brick and mortar is on the corner of 8th and Dawson Street. This drink is to celebrate their business and story; using local entrepreneurship to connect with and impact their neighborhood. We’ve paired it with The Clapping Song by Shirley Ellis—an upbeat song meant to be passed down and participated with across generations. Plus, Shirley Ellis is one of Sophia’s favorite artists! 

Song: ‘The Clapping Song’ by Shirley Ellis

Drink: A cinnamon roll latte served hot or iced. Espresso, milk of choice, Home made cinnamon roll syrup, if iced topped with a cinnamon maple cold foam.

Southside Sessions, hosted by Vigilant Hope, is a space that is safe, welcoming and consistent where Southside residents--especially youth--can create, express themselves, build confidence and connect. It is both an act of joy and resistance. Naming that our existence matters and our creativity holds weight in our world. 

We’ve paired this drink with “Sunday Candy” by Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment, ft. Chance the Rapper—a song that sounds like the warm celebration of a community coming together. It is a song that tributes people and places who make deep impacts and hold cherished memories, and that is our hope for Southside Sessions.

Song: ‘Sunday Candy’ by Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment, ft. Chance the Rapper

Drink: House-made Hibiscus aguas frescas, topped with shaken espresso and local honey.

Can you imagine what happens when young adults begin to invest in their community and love their neighbors? The impact is profound, and this drink serves to highlight a friend of our who has done exactly that (and whose favorite treat is a twix bar).

Song: ‘Street Gospel’ by Carlito

Drink: A twix inspired cappuccino served hot or iced! Espresso, milk of choice, homemade miso caramel syrup, topped with cocoa powder and served with a shortbread cookie! Iced version served with a chocolate cold foam and shortbread cookie.

Consider what it means to dream for a better future. there must be space to dream, where reality can exist outside of chronic survival. not all, but some neighbors in the south side are beginning to name dreams, like affordable housing, for generations to come. there is plenty of work to do, but it often starts with naming a dream.

Song: ‘Build’ by Sleeping At Last

Drink: An etherial matcha latte served hot or iced. Matcha, milk of choice, homemade lavender syrup, butterfly pea powder, and topped with dehydrated blackberry powder. If iced served with a honey blackberry cold foam.

This year, Vigilant Hope committed to the next twenty years in the Southside, choosing to cultivate deep roots and seek its flourishing. When sipping this drink, you are first met with the bite of freshly cracked pepper, then a rich depth from the chicory root and black cocoa along with smokey notes from the lapsang souchong simple syrup. This savory experience is meant to reflect the bold call God had for the Israelites (Jeremiah 29:4-7) and our vision for long-term presence in this neighborhood. We paired this drink with “Roll Away Your Stone” by Mumford & Sons, that feels like an anthem and ache for redemption met with a parade of stomping feet and strumming guitars.

Song: ‘Roll Away Your Stone’ by Mumford & Sons

Drink: Flat white with chicory root and black cocoa syrup, smoky simple syrup, topped with bite freshly cracked peppercorn and roasted salt.

Focusing on Jeremiah 29: 5–6, we see the Lord inviting the Israelites to build houses, plant gardens, and grow for generations to come. God is not simply asking them to remain—He is asking them to create a home in the very place they did not expect to stay. With flavors of black sesame, molasses, cinnamon, and sea salt, we hope to evoke the warmth and depth of home itself. We’ve paired this drink with “Who Knows Where the Time Goes,” covered by Nina Simone—a song that gently traces the passing of time. Its soft acoustic tones evoke the tender image of a grandmother singing to her grandchildren on a front porch, a reminder of the quiet, enduring beauty found in rooted places.

Song: ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’ by Nina Simone

Drink: A latte with black sesame, molasses, cinnamon, and sea salt.

Using locally harvest sweet potato and a warm blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, we hope to express that peacemaking begins by being firmly planted in the very communities where transformation is hoped for. We hoped to communicate this by choosing a root vegetable and sweet potatoes that grown in our own city. We’ve paired this drink with “A Painting of Peace” by Caleb McCoy, a song that reminds us that peace is not simply the absence of conflict—it is active, creative work that cultivates shalom in our communities.

Song: ‘A Painting of Peace’ by Caleb McCoy

Drink: Latte with house-made syrup made from locally harvested sweet potatoes and a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

As we look to the life, power, and call of Jesus, we see again and again that love is the way of the Kingdom of God. It is through love—rooted in His way—that peace and flourishing become possible. We partnered with Yaupon Tea Co., who source and roast yaupon holly around Wilmington, as a nod to Vigilant Hope's commitment to pray for peace over the Southside neighborhood. With the bright flavors of pine, juniper berry, honey, and granulated oranges, this tea elixir aims to capture Matthew 5:9, which reminds us that we are simply children of God, surrendered to His will and His direction in the work and hope of peacemaking. We’ve paired this drink with “Peace Perfect Peace” by Toots & The Maytals, a song that proclaims peace over communities through the way of love. Its Jamaican roots and warm, grounded rhythms carry a hopefulness that mirrors the peace we pray to see take root here.

Song: “Peace Perfect Peace” by Toots & The Maytals

Drink: Locally harvested yaupon tea with the bright flavors of pine, juniper berry, honey, and granulated oranges.