Starbucks closing 8,000 stores Tuesday afternoon for racial bias training

More than 8,000 Starbucks Coffee stores will close Tuesday afternoon for a company-wide training session on racial bias following an April incident in Philadelphia.

Starbucks has shared a "preview video" of what employees and the public can expect from the training session dubbed "5/29."

The video features footage of the April 12 incident in which police were called on two black men who were sitting at a table in a Philadelphia Starbucks store. The video includes cameos from celebrities, including the artist Common and filmmaker Stanley Nelson, along with store managers and employees.

Leaders from the Equal Justice Initiative, Demos and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People helped to create the “curriculum” for Starbucks’ training day, according to the company.

“Our hope is that these learning sessions and discussions will make a difference within and beyond our stores. After May 29, we will make the curriculum available to the public and share it with the regions as well as our licensed and business partners … May 29 isn’t a solution, it’s a first step,” Rossann Williams, Starbucks executive vice president, said in a note to the company on May 22.

The training is the coffee chain’s response to the incident during which two men had asked to use the restroom at a Starbucks. An employee refused because they had not purchased anything. The two men then sat down in the store and an employee asked them to leave but they declined, The Associated Press reports.

The store manager, Holly Hylton, 31, originally from Dayton, Ohio, then sparked a nationwide controversy after she called police on the two men. Hylton is no longer working at the Starbucks in downtown Philadelphia, a spokeswoman told several media outlets following the incident.

Stores will close for the day at 2:30 p.m.

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Meanwhile, Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz issued a letter Tuesday.

The letter, called "An open letter to Starbucks customers, follows:

This afternoon Starbucks will close more than 8,000 stores and begin a new chapter in our history.

In 1983 I took my first trip to Italy. As I walked the streets of Milan, I saw cafés and espresso bars on every street. When I ventured inside I experienced something powerful: a sense of community and human connection.

I returned home determined to create a similar experience in America—a new ’third place’ between home and work—and build a different kind of company. I wanted our stores to be comfortable, safe spaces where everyone had the opportunity to enjoy a coffee, sit, read, write, host a meeting, date, debate, discuss or just relax.

Today 100 million customers enter Starbucks® stores each week. In an ever–changing society, we still aspire to be a place where everyone feels welcome.

Sometimes, however, we fall short, disappointing ourselves and all of you.

Recently, a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia called the police a few minutes after two black men arrived at a store and sat waiting for a friend. They had not yet purchased anything when the police were called. After police arrived they arrested the two men. The situation was reprehensible and does not represent our company’s mission and enduring values.

After investigating what happened, we determined that insufficient support and training, a company policy that defined customers as paying patrons—versus anyone who enters a store—and bias led to the decision to call the police. Our ceo, Kevin Johnson, met with the two men to express our deepest apologies, reconcile and commit to ongoing actions to reaffirm our guiding principles.

The incident has prompted us to reflect more deeply on all forms of bias, the role of our stores in communities and our responsibility to ensure that nothing like this happens again at Starbucks. The reflection has led to a long–term commitment to reform systemwide policies, while elevating inclusion and equity in all we do.

Today we take another step to ensure we live up to our mission:

FOR SEVERAL HOURS THIS AFTERNOON, STARBUCKS WILL CLOSE STORES AND OFFICES TO DISCUSS HOW TO MAKE STARBUCKS A PLACE WHERE ALL PEOPLE FEEL WELCOME.

What will we be doing? More than 175,000 Starbucks partners (that’s what we call our employees) will be sharing life experiences, hearing from others, listening to experts, reflecting on the realities of bias in our society and talking about how all of us create public spaces where everyone feels like they belong—because they do. This conversation will continue at our company and become part of how we train all of our partners.

Discussing racism and discrimination is not easy, and various people have helped us create a learning experience that we hope will be educational, participatory and make us a better company. We want this to be an open and honest conversation starting with our partners. We will also make the curriculum available to the public.

To our Starbucks partners: I want to thank you for your participation today and for the wonderful work you do every day to make Starbucks a third place for millions of customers.

To our customers: I want to thank you for your patience and support as we renew our promise to make Starbucks what I envisioned it could be nearly 40 years ago—an inclusive gathering place for all.

We’ll see you tomorrow.

With deep respect,

Howard

Cox Media Group