Starbucks will shut down all of its 8,000 stores nationwide to conduct a “racial-bias training”. This response comes amid backlash after a video of the arrest of two black men in a Philadelphia store went viral last Saturday.
The program will be conducted on May 29, and will include 175,000 employees.
The Starbucks manager who called the police has already left the company in what is said to be a “mutual decision”.
CEO Kevin Johnson issued a statement on Tuesday, April 17.
His statement reads in part:
“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it… While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”
This action follows a string of apologies from Johnson, as well as a call to apologize face-to-face to the two men who apparently did nothing other than wait inside the establishment for their companion.
Their innocence was corroborated by other Starbucks patrons who witnessed the incident, including Melissa DePino, who took the video that has now reached more than 10 million people.
@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018
Their seemingly groundless arrests resulted in a backlash against the popular coffee chain, complete with a trending #BoycottStarbucks hashtag.
Protests are still ongoing outside the Philly store where the incident took place.
While some may see it as a mere PR stunt, Johnson’s proactive response is being lauded by many as a genuine and concrete step towards progress.
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