Full disclosure is
necessary right off the top. I am not a
paid spokesperson for Starbucks nor am I compensated by Starbucks in any
way. I’m simply a loyal Starbucks
customer. I am for several
reasons. I enjoy their drinks and their
food selections. In fact, if you haven’t
tried the Salted Caramel White Mocha with one of those absolutely divine peanut
butter cookies with creamy chocolate filling, you have truly missed one of
life’s simpler
pleasures. However, the
menu at Starbucks is not what has motivated this piece. The misplaced and misguided talk by many in
the African-American community is what will be discussed.
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| Salted Caramel White Chocolate Mocha and peanut butter cookie Photo by Craig Riggins |
I am black, I'm a frequent Starbucks customer and NO,
I am NOT going to boycott
Starbucks. Unless you have been in
suspended animation since April 12, you have by now certainly heard of the
arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson at Starbucks in Philadelphia. Their crime?
They were two black men who hadn’t placed an order while awaiting the
arrival of a business associate who was white, were asked to leave and when
they refused, the police were called and they were arrested for
trespassing. A very unfortunate incident
wrought with racism and bigotry that is far too common in society today. (Vox: Two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks for doing nothing)
In a very insightful piece by Jamelle Bouie of Slate, “White Spaces”,
the factors behind this particular unfortunate incident were outlined.
“The Philadelphia Starbucks where
two black men were arrested last Thursday, however, is located in a zip code that
is 79 percent white and just 6 percent black. In all likelihood, most of the
clientele there is white, which, to borrow from sociologist Elijah Anderson, makes this particular location
a ‘white space’,
or an area whose ‘most visible and distinctive feature is [the] overwhelming
presence of white people and [the] absence of black people.’”
Jamelle Bouie, Slate Magazine
The outcry from the
African-American community was predictable.
Calls for boycotting Starbucks was the Flavor of the Month. I get being offended and upset about what
happened to those men in Philadelphia. I
was as offended as anyone. I’m a
PROTESTER. Between 1988 and 1998, I was
arrested too many times to recall for demonstrating and protesting when I lived
in the San Francisco Bay Area. As much
as anyone, I get what that is about. On
this one, though, I’m not in. There has been
NO company in America and, arguably, the world that has been more committed to
addressing the racial, social and economic polarization in America than
Starbucks.
In the aftermath of Mike Brown,Jr. getting shot and killed by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August 2014, Howard Schultz, the Executive Chairman of Starbucks, came to Ferguson to survey the physical and, most importantly, the psychological damage brought on by the civil unrest. He walked the neighborhoods of Ferguson and talked with the people of Ferguson. It was during that visit Howard Schulz made the decision to open Starbucks in Ferguson on West Florissant Avenue – the same street the majority of the civil unrest took place and was broadcast around the globe. The store was staffed with partners who lived within the immediate area.
Starbucks
also partnered with Natalie Clay, owner of Natalie’s Cakes and More Clay, then Natalie DuBose, whose store was looted during the
unrest, can proudly boast her cakes are sold in 30 St. Louis area Starbucks
locations. In addition to the Ferguson
store, Starbucks has opened 14 other stores in low income neighborhoods across
the country with the sole purpose of providing jobs as well as opportunities
for Starbucks partners to continue their education. Starbucks will also partner with minority
owned businesses and like minded non-profits in those targeted communities. (Investing in Diverse Communities across the U.S.) In
a piece in Forbes “Starbucks Hopes 15 New Stores Will make It Part of the ‘DNA’of Low-Income Communities of Color”, Alisha Damodaran, Senior Manager, Global
Corporate Communications for Starbucks, said Starbucks will measure the success
of those stores by how well they are “performing financially as well as how
(they are) contributing to the local economic development through job
creation. We look for engagement with
local women and minority-owned vendors and suppliers and collaboration with
like-minded nonprofits to support in-store training opportunities. It’s not just about the bottom line, but how
the store is uniquely engaging with and supporting the community.”
In the aftermath of Mike Brown,Jr. getting shot and killed by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August 2014, Howard Schultz, the Executive Chairman of Starbucks, came to Ferguson to survey the physical and, most importantly, the psychological damage brought on by the civil unrest. He walked the neighborhoods of Ferguson and talked with the people of Ferguson. It was during that visit Howard Schulz made the decision to open Starbucks in Ferguson on West Florissant Avenue – the same street the majority of the civil unrest took place and was broadcast around the globe. The store was staffed with partners who lived within the immediate area.
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| Natalie Clay Photo by Craig Riggins |
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| Starbucks in Ferguson storefront Photo by Craig Riggins |
Starbucks has partnered with Arizona State University online and many of the partners in
low-income communities can now enroll in college and receive full tuition
reimbursement while doing so (ASU and Starbucks Partner to Make College Affordable). Through the company’s Opportunity Youth
initiative, Starbucks has committed to hiring 10, 000 out of school and
unemployed youths by 2020. Do you see
where this is going?
There is more than
one interesting twist to this “Boycott Starbucks” craze. For starters, I have heard people I directly know don’t
go to Starbucks be the loudest barkers.
Huh? HOW can you boycott a
business where you never spent money in the first place? Another interesting twist about the protest
barkers is how LITTLE many of them know about the details of what actually happened in that
store in Philadelphia. I’ve asked some
of them directly what they knew about what happened and it always seemingly morphs
into “THEY said”. Huh? WHO in the hell are THEY? THEY sure do appear in a lot of discussions
that are independently fact FREE. It
seems this boycott talk is Soup Du Jour among a large
swath of black people. Goodness KNOWS we
black people have a lot of reasons TO protest these days. An act of ignorance and racism in a coffee
shop sure ain’t one of ‘em. For those
who insist on protesting Starbucks, I have a question: How often do you
vote? That’s where you can REALLY
protest: the ballot box. For those of
you who recite that “My vote don’t matter” nonsense, which far too many black
people use as an excuse for not voting, here’s a question: Why do you think
conservative politicians and their backers spend TENS of MILLIONS of dollars
making it harder and inconvenient to vote while at the same time making it virtually impossible for some black people to vote if your
vote really DOESN'T matter? Protest
about voter suppression, not an act of ignorance in a coffee shop.
Here’s another
question for the Boycott Starbucks crowd.
Are you aware that only 45% of black high school students graduate with their class? Were you also aware that a
large majority of the black students who DO graduate are functionally
ILLITERATE? If you want to protest
something, organize ongoing protests on how public education is FAILING our kids
in record numbers. THAT is REALLY
something to protest, not an act of ignorance in a coffee shop.
I would be curious
to know how many in the Boycott Starbucks crowd buy Angel Soft toilet paper,
Mardi Gras napkins, Quilted Northern toilet paper, Soft N Gentle facial tissue
or Sparkle paper towels. I would bet
several do. Each of those products are produced
by Koch Industries, the multi billion dollar global enterprise headed up Charles
and David Koch, two of the most extreme right wing wealthy people around. The Koch Brothers finance politicians and
think tanks with the sole purpose of turning America into a plutocracy. They are literally BUYING legislation through
FUNDING Republican politicians. Now
those are DEFINITELY products to boycott, right? Right?
What happened in
that Starbucks in Philadelphia was reprehensible. Howard Schultz said as much in an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson traveled to Philadelphia and met with Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson and apologized
directly. By the way, in October 2017, Starbucks hired a black woman, Rosalind Brewer, as its Chief Operating Officer and Group President. BOOM!
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| Rosalind Brewer |
I’m hopeful by now
that considering its commitment and actions to impact low-income and marginalized minorities through employment and higher education
opportunities, it is realized that Starbucks should not be boycotted because of
the incident in Philadelphia. The
company has quite a track record that can’t be ignored. The boycott craze is misguided and misplaced.
I am black, I’m a
frequent Starbucks customer and NO,
I am NOT going to boycott
Starbucks.
Peace, peace.
Craig Riggins
Facebook: The
Riggins Report
Twitter:
@CraigRiggins
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