Black men arrested at Philadelphia Starbucks agree to meet with CEO

[DonViejo]

Source: CNN-Money



by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney
April 16, 2018: 9:32 AM ET

The two black men arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks last week have agreed to meet with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.

The timing of the meeting has not been set, according to a Starbucks spokesperson. The company said it hopes the meeting will occur this week while Johnson is in Philadelphia addressing the controversy over their arrests.

A store manager called the police because the two men were sitting in the store without placing an order. They were arrested for trespassing. The customers said they were waiting for another man to arrive. That person arrived at the store as they were being arrested.

In an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Johnson said he hoped to meet with the two men in person to apologize face to face.

"I'd like to have a dialogue with them so that I can ensure that we have opportunity to really understand the situation and show some compassion and empathy for the experience they went through," he said. "Finally as we're working to solve this, I'd like to invite them to join me in finding a constructive way to solve this issue."

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/16/news/companies/starbucks-ceo-apology/index.html

[Kber]

1. I get the desire to apologize in person. Thats admirable.

But as far as the two innocent men harassed and arrested, it’s not really their problem to solve. This is on the company and the police.

[sdfernando]

11. I agree it is admirable for the CEO to want to apologize face to face

One way the CEO can ensure this doesn't happen again is to not hire RACISTS...The manager of that store is a RACIST whether he believes it or not and should be fired. You cannot convince me that had these guys been white the manager wouldn't have done a damned thing!

The cops making the arrest should have let the guys go immediately when their friend showed up an corroborated their reason for being there. So the cops are RACIST too (big surprise there!). The cops should be disciplined and/or fired as well.

I'm really sick of this SHIT!

[brooklynite]

24. And how do you apply that principle in the hiring process?

"Why, NO Ms. HR person; I don't have a racist bone in my body"

[sdfernando]

27. Yeah, you can't...I know that...just sick of the shit! /NT

[Blackjackdavey]

31. Hiring panel

Get a person of color on the interviewing team, ask scenarios, assess their attitude and responses. Not at all difficult, tbh.

[trueblue2007]

34. Starbucks should fire the manager and Starbucks should give the men $$$$$ for the embarrassment

it is horrible what they went through. i feel sorry for them and their families

[onetexan]

39. No embarrassment here, just victims of blatant discrimination

they were sitting at a cafe while black. The CEO is trying to save his company's image, and from getting sued.
If i were the men, i'd bring lawyers to the discussion and demand that
1)monetary reparation be made for sufferings brought on by public humiliation and for being inconvenienced by the terrible situation
2) that Starbucks invest in a training program for greater awareness and diversity for their employees
3) that this company be held accountable and be made to be a model of how not to treat their customers of color

Otherwise we will be reverting back to days of Rosa Parks, segregated eateries and segregated schools.

[beachbum bob]

2. my wife added starbucks to the list of businesses we won't spend our money on.

The inherent racism can't be ignored nor the wrong done to these 2 guys.

[BigmanPigman]

5. I agree with your wife.

[Liberalhammer]

3. They should sue Starbucks and the police

For breaking their civil rights.

[brooklynite]

25. What civil rights were violated?

This is a matter of racial sensitivity, not a violation of the law.

[barbtries]

29. 4th amendment nt

[brooklynite]

33. If they had been in their own home, perhaps.

[barbtries]

35. i'm not a lawyer,

so cannot argue this, but i don't think i agree with you. are you a lawyer? not being snarky, asking honestly

[brooklynite]

37. No, but my wife is.

The two men were on property owned by someone else. The over-reach by the manager notwithstanding, the owner of the property generally has the right to enforce access by people not meeting the terms of access (e.g. purchasing products).

[barbtries]

38. asking them to leave yes,

that was just morally wrong. locking them up for 9 hours is where i feel their rights were violated.

[Merlot]

40. Locking them up for 9 hours was on the police

The police should be the ones held accountable. It's easy to pile on Starbucks, but I doubt that they have a racist policy. What they had was a manager who did something horrible, and that manager is no longer with the company.

The police were under no obligation to arrest the 2 men. They could have evaluated the situation, and spoke to the mens friend, as well as the manager who made the call. They didn't do anything to de-escalate the situation. I hope the two men sue the police.

And, fwiw, am not a fan of Starbucks, but also know they are not chick-fil-a.

[barbtries]

41. well, yes, the police.

violated their rights. this is the first time i heard they let the manager go, in fact i read on twitter today that they had not. good if you're correct imo.

then there was an episode at a Starbucks in LA in which a customer who had not yet placed his order needed to use the restroom; they refused to give him the code. he met another, white, man coming out of the restroom who confirmed that he had not placed his order either. he of course was black.

I think Starbucks needs a culture update.

[barbtries]

4. train your people not to profile people.

one start.

[safeinOhio]

8. Bingo...

We have a winner.

[YOHABLO]

6. Well Mr.Johnson, maybe you should fire that manager. There could have been other ways of handling

this incident. How about approaching these young men and asking them if you could get them a coffee or something ...maybe on the house? Let's be honest, Starbucks is the place where a lot of people go to meet up or hang out. I see people come into Starbucks and not buy anything and stay all day. So this is all about the management of that particular Starbucks. How about training your managers on how to handle these situations. (the officers also should be held accountable for this as well)

[Ellipsis]

7. I thought he might do this.

Interested to see where this goes.

[IronLionZion]

9. Their coffee still sucks

it's great that their leadership has made an effort to promote progress and dialogue on some race and gender issues but when the product sucks so bad with inferior beans roasted way too dark, people might not want to buy it. I go most anywhere else before Starbucks. When someone gives me a Starbucks gift card, I always regift it. I really worry about people who develop an addiction to their salty orange pumpkin spice lattes.

I applaud their efforts to train their workers better to address unconscious bias.

[YOHABLO]

12. I'm really really sick of them pushing that awful PIKE crap. How can.anyone think that tastes good?

[mbusby]

23. I think it tastes good...

....Starbucks should get rid of the manager of the store. I doubt racism is part of Starbucks policy.

[procon]

22. Evidently there is an unrecognized minority of coffee aficionados who don't

buy all the marketing hype of the Starbuck brand. People buy Starbucks for the status of holding a cup with their logo on it, but it’s just overpriced and disappointingly average coffee that is made more palatable by adding lots of sweet additions. The only recommendation i could give it is to say it is served hot.

I want a very dark, full bodied coffee like a Vianna or Spanish roast that heat the beans until they are almost ready to burst into flames and they come out black and bursting with the flavorful oils coating the surface. I usually take coffee from home, but if I have to buy it, Dunkin' Donuts is far better than Starbucks.

[Stryst]

26. When I worked at Dallas/Ft. Worth airport

Dunkin' Donuts was the only place that charged the same for a cup of coffee in the airport as outside. I drank a LOT of Dunkin Donuts coffee over those years.

[IronLionZion]

30. McDonalds coffee is way better than Starbucks

they source excellent beans and have a good process for brewing it. I don't know about their sugary addition drinks, but their plain drip coffee is surprisingly great.

[RobinA]

10. The Point of This

escapes me except as theater.

[YOHABLO]

14. No it's like everything else in this country ... BAD or NO training. It's called management skills.

[c-rational]

13. You can solve this issue by curing white people of racism.

[YOHABLO]

15. Yes, you are right. But how?

[c-rational]

17. Good question. Remove ignorance. Open people's eyes to the truth that no human being is better

than any other human. We are taught so many falsehoods growing up...in school and in church. I wish I knew the answer...maybe first gain democratic control of government and restore economic equality and rewrite the laws giving corporations the equivalence of an individual. Hold all religious people accountable to this Truth.

[TexasBushwhacker]

21. Easier said than done

The fact is, racism/tribalism (my tribe is better than your tribe) is universal. It's not uniquely American. People like to think they are better. It feels good. People are encouraged to feel PRIDE about their race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic class, gender, sexual preference. And all of these traits are things you are pretty much born with. It makes as much sense to feel pride about your race as it does to feel pride about having blue eyes.

The problem with pride is that it's flip side is shame. Tell people that they are no better than other races, nationalities, religions etc and it FEELS like your telling them to be ashamed about those things and you just aren't going to be successful with that. As human beings, we are deeply invested in our "isms". The best we can do is increase awareness and fight against institutional racism. That's an acheivable goal.

[MichMan]

16. They should each get a turn key franchise provided

[Wounded Bear]

18. Or at least coffee for life...

[obamanut2012]

20. I am betting they will both get SBX for LIfe cards

[obamanut2012]

19. Kevin Johnson at least gave a REAL apology

And is promising to do something -- after SBX PR's rather tepid "apology" the day before.

It never should have happened, but props to not giving, "WEll, sorry you were offended, but..." apology.

[Wellstone ruled]

28. Glad to see Starbuck's CEO

is paying attention. The Largest non Company Coffee Sales Source is just a few blocks away and that National Company will demand action.

[No Vested Interest]

32. Has anyone seen a mention of how long the two men were waiting for their friend?

Was it 10, 15 , thirty minutes or more? Was it one hour or more?
Just wondering how long those men were being observed before the manager felt they were there too long.

Hope the friend who was apparently late had a good excuse and apologized to the two for his tardiness.

I'm not defending the manager in any way for her action in calling police.

[Ohiogal]

36. I have sat in a particular Starbucks

in my old college town, waiting for two old friends to show up, a half a dozen times or so. I didn't order anything, I just sat there looking at my tablet, for perhaps a half an hour. No one said boo to me. But, then, I am white, and female.