These Two Words On Starbucks Coffee Cups Could Brew Heated Encounters Over Race
“I think people of color who work at Starbucks confronting…”
If you’re a Starbucks customer, the next time you drop in for a coffee or specialty drink, you could find yourself served with more than a beverage. The outspoken head of the multi-billion-dollar company wants his employees to consider engaging you in a conversation about race relations in America.
Fortune reports that Starbucks baristas are being encouraged to write “RaceTogether” on the paper cups they hand to customers…then, out of the blue and for no particular reason, to start a discussion about race.
The article on the Fortune website notes that Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, is no stranger to mixing his 4,700 store empire with hot social issues ranging from gun control to same-sex marriage.
“Two years ago, after an investor at its annual shareholder meeting said the company’s support for a marriage equality bill in Washington state had hurt sales after a boycott by an advocacy group, Schultz invited him to sell his Starbucks shares if he felt he could find another stock with as a high a return rate.”
Not only does Fortune note the potential for creating uncomfortable in-store arguments about racial issues — including such discussion starters as Ferguson and police-community confrontations — but a post on the website Downtrend also wonders about the wisdom of the RaceTogether initiative at Starbucks.
CEO Schultz has already alienated gun owners by bowing to pressure from Moms Demand Action and proving he doesn’t respect the 2nd Amendment.
Now he seems intent on narrowing his customer base to persons of color and those who admit to their white privilege.
The Washington Post reports on some of the snarkier observations from twitter users who “accused the coffee giant of overzealous and meaningless feel-good liberalism.”
h/t: Downtrend