Starbucks is closing more than 8,000 of its stores nationwide at 2 p.m. this afternoon to conduct racial bias training for all of its employees. More than 175,000 employees of the coffee giant will go through training that will "focus on understanding prejudice and the history of public accommodations in the United States."
Future training will address "all aspects of bias and experience," Starbucks said.
The training initiative was sparked after the recent arrest of two black men who didn't buy anything while waiting for their friend inside a Philadelphia Starbucks last month. The manager called police and officers arrested the pair for trespassing.
They were later released and police apologized. The pair settled with the City of Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 and a promise from the city to create a $200,000 for young entrepreneurs at local high schools.
The arrests sparked a nationwide backlash and a promise from Starbucks to do better, including conducting the racial bias training, and changing their policies to not require purchases for people to sit in their cafes or use their bathrooms.
Starbucks Executive Vice President Rossann Williams sent a note to all of their partners in the U.S. on Monday:
“Our hope is that these learning sessions and discussions will make a difference within and beyond our stores. After May 29, we will make the curriculum available to the public and share it with the regions as well as our licensed and business partners. Starbucks is a company built on nurturing the human spirit, and it’s on us to harness our scale and expertise to do right by the communities we serve. May 29 isn’t a solution, it's a first step. By educating ourselves on understanding bias and how it affects our lives and the lives of the people we encounter and serve, we renew our commitment to making the third place welcoming and safe for everyone.”
Rapper Common recorded a video that will be broadcast to the coffee chain's employees, and they will break into focus groups to discuss ways to prevent racial bias. The company says they will share the training content with other companies and organizations who might be interested in using their curriculum.
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