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After a Starbuck’s manager in Philadelphia called the police on two young black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, minutes after entering the store, the news went viral.
Upon entering the Starbucks, Nelson asked if he could use the restroom, he was denied and told that it was only for paying customers. He and Robinson then took seats at a table while they waited for the third member of their party to show up. While waiting, they were asked by an employee if they needed help, to which they stated no and that they were simply waiting for a business partner. The store manager called the police, who then showed up and arrested the men.
According to CNN, Robinson, in reference to the police arriving, said: “I was thinking, they can’t be here for us. It didn’t really hit me what was going on, that it was real, till I was being double-locked with my hands behind my back.”
NBC News reports that the men feared for their lives when they saw the police walk over toward them.
They were arrested for trespassing, but the charges were later dropped. A video of the incident immediately began circulating.
After the incident, Starbuck’s CEO, Kevin Johnson, who apologized to the men, and agreed to settle with them using mediation. Johnson also stated that Starbucks would close all their 8,000 stores for a few hours in May to train its more than 175,000 workers about racial-bias in the workplace. In addition, he proposes to have his stores work more closely with community leaders.
While Starbuck’s CEO’s swift response is a step in the right direction, many more issues are raised than are addressed:
1. The term “racial-bias” is being used over the more power term “racial discrimination.”
2. The raising of the issue with the Torrance, California, Starbuck’s case (which occurred prior to the Philadelphia case), where a non-customer black man was denied access to the restroom, while a non-customer while man was granted access.
3. The police resorting to arresting the men immediately.
4. The police not wearing body cameras.
Are companies doing enough to train and educate employees? What about the police? What can men and women who face racial discrimination do?
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