Starbucks announced their ‘Racial-Bias Education Day’ after an incident involving two African-American men having the police called on them by an employee when they refused to leave the store. They had reportedly been at the coffee chain, this one located in Philadelphia, for a meeting, but hadn’t yet purchased anything.
According to some accounts, the two had asked to use the bathroom (which you need to make a purchase for), which was the catalyst for them being asked to leave.
@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
The story went viral because it was filmed while the two men were arrested and escorted out by police. Now, as a result, over 8,000 Starbucks stores will be closed on May 29th so that the company’s employees can undergo a “racial-bias education program” for their 170k+ employees.
According to the Daily Wire, the audio of the phone call that led to their arrest has just been released, giving us more insight into the manager’s motives.
“Hi, I have two gentlemen in my cafe that are refusing to make a purchase or leave,” says Holly, the store manager. She then gives the dispatcher the address to the cafe before saying “thank you” and hanging up the phone.
Police officers and dispatchers can be heard communicating about the report in the rest of the call. The incident is described as a “disturbance” and the employee who made the report as a “supervisor.” Officers were then sent to the location.
Holly, the woman heard on the April 12 call, has since parted ways with the coffee giant. Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz told “CBS This Morning” that he has “no doubt” that Holly’s actions were motived by race. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason that they (police) were called was because they were African American,” Schultz said Wednesday. “That’s not who Starbucks is.”
It’s a bit odd that the CEO of Starbucks thinks he knows what the motives of his employees are, though one could argue that she acted poorly as a manager, regardless of whether or not race is a variable.
For one, Starbucks is a store where people are known to hang out, and the two men arrested were there to meet someone. Despite that fact, Holly called the police on the two after a mere two minutes. Perhaps they would’ve purchased something when their friend arrived.
I’m only discounting race as a factor here because Holly’s own friends describe her as a “social justice warrior” of the “highest order.”
Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson arrived at Philly @Starbucks at 4:35 for a meeting. Records show 911 was called … at 4:37. #TwoMinutes @GMA pic.twitter.com/uajS4UhdS0
— T.J. Holmes (@tjholmes) April 19, 2018
I’m not so convinced this is a “race” issue, so much as it an issue of how Starbucks’ own corporate policy is to be enforced. And there are plenty of expulsions from Starbucks people would be outraged over if they were intellectually consistent. A particular story from 2016 comes to mind…
Anyway, for any of our readers who find themselves at this particular Starbucks in Philadelphia and need to use the bathroom, the key-code is 4021 (yes, really).
Do you think race was an issue here? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
