Starbucks To Close On May 29 For Racial-Bias Training Session

Starbucks is doing damage control following two instances where the coffee chain was accused of racism. To combat implicit bias, the company announced it will close all of its company-owned stores on the afternoon of May 29th to conduct a racial-bias education session. 

The first incident involved two men who were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks after being denied access to the bathroom because they were not paying customers. The second incident happened on the other side of the country in Los Angles, California. A manager refused to give a black man the code to the bathroom because he did not place an order, but minutes later, another employee allowed a white person to use the bathroom without placing an order.

Starbucks decided to close nearly 8,000 stores across the country to offer training on the concept of implicit bias for its nearly 175,000 employees. The company issued a statement saying they are "committed to being a part of the solution."

"I've spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it," Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, said in a statement Tuesday. "While this is not limited to Starbucks, we're committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities."


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