The origin of the name Cup-a-Joe began as a snarky insult to the man who had controlling interest in Raleigh’s News & Observer for decades—Josephus Daniels. He was a notorious white supremacist who admitted to using the paper to sway elections, and who believed allowing African Americans to vote was a “great folly.” In later years, he was elected as Secretary of the Navy, and in 1914 he banned all alcohol from Navy ships. The soldiers, resentful of the lack of alcohol, referred to coffee, the strongest drink allowed on a ship as a “Cup o’ Joe,” referring to the burdensome law of Josephus. In 1995, the Daniels family sold the newspaper to McClatchy. If you like drinking cocktails and craft beer while exploring alcohol’s role in Raleigh history, check out the Great Raleigh Trolley’s Drunk History Walking Tour this Saturday at 2pm! We will visit four bars and get four complimentary drinks while touring downtown Raleigh’s secrets and hotspots!
Tickets ——> https://www.raleigh.tours/drunkhistory