As I sip on this week’s Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew, I can’t help but ask myself: why do I, a dark-skinned girl, choose to support a company who has come into racial turmoil in the past?
It’s the question that many people are posing to those who continue to buy their coffee from Starbucks after the arrest of two black men in 2018. At a Philadelphia Starbucks, two black men were arrested for “doing nothing” according to a Vox article. Employees at the location said that the men were trespassing because they did not buy a drink. The men said that they were waiting for a business associate, but the employees did not believe them. When asked to leave, the men refused, leading to their prompt arrest.
Though Starbucks claims that this would have happened to anyone no matter their race, it calls into question the greater idea of racial stereotypes. Did the employees feel threatened by the men? Why would they feel threatened? What made them call the police?
No matter what the answers to these questions, nothing can negate the fact that the actions of those Starbucks employees went against the movement of companies to be racially and ethnically diverse and inclusive. In the process, it angered many Americans. Many people felt as if Starbucks could not do anything to make up for their actions. No longer could Starbucks claim it was a company of the people if they resisted so strongly against “intimidating” minority groups.
To respond, Starbucks announced that May 29th marked their national day of Anti-Bias Training. If you’re an
“The Office” fan like me, you probably thought it sounds oddly familiar to the “Diversity Day” episode in which the staff learned just how not diverse their company was. If you read Starbucks Stories, you see that same idea. The anti-bias training was meant to serve as a very public form of remorse and apology for the arrests rather than a quality attempt at broadening the perspectives of employees. It seems even more absurd that Starbucks felt the need to announce their training. Really, it only proved further that they did not understand the social landscape and how to interact with it.
And yet, Starbucks never failed; they prevailed. The company made conversations about race the forefront of their business. Howard Schultz was “ashamed” according to BBC, and policies were under review according to The Seattle Times. Despite how out-of-touch Starbucks seemed to be, the company remained on top.
So why do I continue to support the company through my purchases?
The simple answer is: Starbucks is trying. I recognize the efforts of Starbucks to better include all races, genders, and identities into their staff and customer base.
Starbucks has left a footprint on how our society perceives social justice issues within large companies. It has learned how to market their flaws as “human” errors to create a model for how other companies can gloss over their own shortcomings.
This is a powerful thing.
We, the consumers, allow for businesses with good PR consultants to patch over real social justice issues. If this bleeds into government or everyday life, who can be held accountable for their treatment of minorities? Who’s to say Starbucks won’t do this again? And if it did happen again, would you stop buying your favorite drink, food, or clothing item?
I do agree with the fact that Starbucks is trying to better themselves, and trying to own up for their shortcomings. Now, if they were just simply standing idly by, then that’s when I’d stop supporting them. It’s just absurd to see how many top companies still choose to remain passive to issues like these, and even more so to see that people still support such companies.