CULTURE

Starbucks, Your Racism is Showing

It’s 2018, and we are still being subjected to the viral stories of brands and establishments profiling customers of color with little to no repercussions.

White people have historically called the police on people of color as a weapon for their racism and fear.  This past weekend, we saw a local Starbuck’s manager racially profiling two black men who were waiting for a friend, by calling the police on them, which ended in their arrest. This is not just a Starbucks problem but a national problem. Starbucks can and should do something to not only fix their work culture but also to lead by example in deterring racial profiling and unconscious bias.

This, unfortunately, isn’t the first time Starbucks staff have called the police on a black man who was not doing anything wrong. In 2015, Dontre Hamilton was outside a Starbucks and the staff called the police on him. Initially, the police said he was doing nothing wrong so the call from the Starbucks staff was unwarranted, but another officer went back over, scuffled with and shot Hamilton 14 times which killed him. The officer was fired, leaving us with another incident where the police did not use the proper protocol for handling a mentally disabled person which resulted in death. But we have to ask, why were the police called in the first place and why did the officer ignore the reports that stated he was doing nothing wrong? Why can the police bring in mass murderers unharmed, but not a mentally disabled unarmed person? Why does it result in death instantly?

I can count numerous times in multiple states when racist neighbors called the police on my daughter’s 8th-grade graduation party at 6 PM, her 12th birthday party, her 14th birthday party and her 15th birthday party. The police were also called when I was moving out of my home on the east coast. A black person and a moving truck is a signal to call the police. Upon relocating to the west coast, neighbors saw our moving truck and called the police multiple times. They saw our garbage cans on the curb longer than theirs; they called the police. My family has been called the N-word on all coasts at random times while driving or while breathing, all while being black.

Do you see the pattern? Ordinary daily activities that people engage in are seen as opportunities to call the police when done by people of color. Some seem to think we are not allowed to live, buy skittles, walk home, drive, get coffee, be black.

People of color know these racist actions all too well. We knew exactly what went down when we saw Starbucks trending. We know that if we dress down, wear a hoodie, wear sweats or a baseball cap, we may be followed or profiled in a store. I personally drop $500 or more when visiting Sephora, but I have been followed by security and store employees on three occasions. What is it about me that draws so much attention? My luxury bag doesn’t protect me, nor does the rest of my attire and demeanor. But why should it need to?  All they see is that I am black and that equates to suspicious.

This history of discrimination brings us back to the actions of the Starbucks manager to call the police upon seeing two black men who had not ordered anything, waiting for a friend.

Starbucks issued a Twitter apology below:

Then they issued this statement on Twitter:

The statement signed by Johnson on Saturday night read, in part: “First, to once again express our deepest apologies to the two men who were arrested with a goal of doing whatever we can to make things right. Second, to let you know of our plans to investigate the pertinent facts and make any necessary changes to our practices that would help prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again. And third, to reassure you that Starbucks stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling.”

He refused to say what, if any, repercussions the Starbucks employees who called 911 might face.

Johnson told ABC News on Monday that it was “completely inappropriate” for Philadelphia Starbucks employees to call the police on two black men who asked to use the restroom.

Johnson was asked by “Good Morning America” if he thought Thursday’s arrests were a case of “racial profiling.” He did not directly answer that question, but he did say: “Starbucks was built as a company that creates a warm, welcoming environment for all customers. That didn’t happen here in this case.” “Clearly, there’s an opportunity for us to provide clarity and in addition to that I’d say there’s training, more training that we’re going to do with our store managers, not only around the guidelines but training around unconscious bias,” he said.

Johnson then comes out with a third video apology and indicated that the charges were dropped against the two men. “This is not who we are, and it’s not who we’re going to be. We’re going to learn from this, and we’re going to be better from this,” he said. In the same breath, he declared that the manager would not be fired and that he was taking the blame for the incident himself. He stated this was a management issue.

FULL INTERVIEW: “I personally apologize…” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson one-on-one with @RobinRoberts in his first interview after two black men were handcuffed at a Philadelphia store.

So much to unwrap here. For starters, the employee has since resigned, but many media outlets are erroneously reporting that the manager was let go.

Many were demanding they fire the manager and protesting in the Philadelphia store.

Some are declaring that Starbucks is violating human rights laws by racially discriminating.

Johnson has since apologized in a private meeting with the two men Monday, a company spokeswoman confirmed to The Washington Post. The spokeswoman, Jamie Riley, did not provide any additional details.

Starbucks, you are right, you do need to do more as well as many other brands. If you know that racial discrimination exists and the history of slavery and Jim Crow laws in this country, why would you not have policy implemented to ensure all customers are treated equally.

This incident isn’t the first time we have seen racial discrimination from brands. If we know that there are employees that hold bias and display micro aggressions daily, why is treatment like this allowed and only acknowledged when it’s caught on tape. These incidents happen every day to people of color. Americans are wired to judge and repeat the wrongs of the past every single day. America loves black culture but it fails to love black people, and it’s for no good reason. Brands should step up and educate their employees on racial bias, racially profiling customers and discrimination of people of color, women and the disabled and homeless. It’s not hard. Maybe try a one-sheet during training.

Another video is now going viral, of a Starbucks manager not allowing a black customer to use the bathroom before ordering but allowed a white customer to get the bathroom keycode without ordering anything. The manager then went into a rage demanding not to be videotaped and defending her decision.

 

Last year Old Navy made James Conley III, a father, and black male frequent customer, take off his jacket to have it scanned, accusing him of stealing from the store. The man had purchased the jacket on a previous day, and he wore it into the store. No apology was given in the store when they scanned the item and saw that he did indeed own the jacket. Lucky for him, he had videotaped the entire experience. Old Navy fired the three employees involved.

Old Navy stated,”Earlier this week an Old Navy customer, James Conley III, had an unacceptable experience in our Jordan Creek, Iowa store. The situation was a violation of our policies and values, and we apologize to both Mr. Conley and to those we’ve disappointed. All of our customers deserve to be treated with respect. Following a thorough investigation of the incident, three employees who were involved have been terminated. We take this matter – and every conversation around equality – very seriously. Old Navy is committed to ensuring that our stores are an environment where everyone feels welcome.”

The clothing retailer H&M apologized for an image appearing in its online store that showed a black child model wearing a hooded sweatshirt that said “coolest monkey in the jungle.” The company removed the image and said it would also pull the shirt from its stores worldwide. They then announced the appointment of a diversity leader.

People of color are far and few in the boardrooms and creative teams at large companies like H&M. If these companies hired in a nonbiased way, they would have more people of color on their executive teams to stop fiascos like this from happening. You can’t just feature black culture, sell coffee from Africa with strategically placed people of color in ads and think that you have the equation for progress. What many brands are finding out is that their racism is showing. The racism that is happening on the corporate and hiring side where they do not have sufficient people of color working for the company in management and executive roles to embody progress and diversity.

With incidents like this happening so often, and brands and executives knowing the history of racism in America, including Jim Crow laws that were implemented to make it illegal for blacks to function as citizens in this country, why haven’t more brands stepped up to counter racism and educate their employees on their unconscious bias. The media has contributed to the demonization of people of color to support the agenda that people of color are second class citizens. Not much has been done after changing those laws. There was no government campaign to change the way people think about race. Just removing the laws isn’t going to change the bias that has been built up in this country for hundreds of years. It’s not a switch that you can shut off. The microaggressions are endless if you are a person of color on the receiving end daily.

More brands need to have accountability for the racism displayed by their employees. Brands need to show unconscious bias when hiring and have a staff that reflects equality. If they don’t, they will continue to have backlash and customers boycott brands and cause stocks to drop. Black spending power is at a trillion dollars, and brands will need to do the math, that it’s not only a civil rights issue, but it will influence their bottom line.