Member-only story
White people are listening, Howard Schultz
I had a very specific goal in mind when I bought a ticket to billionaire coffee mogul and potential 2020 presidential candidate Howard Schultz’s book event at the Free Library of Philadelphia on February 13. I had been trying to get a meeting with him ever since I shared the now infamous video of Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson being arrested in my neighborhood Starbucks. As a result of the incident, I started working with Michelle Saahene, the first person to speak up in the Starbucks that day. Together we started From Privilege to Progress, which calls on allies to show up against racism through education, speaking up in their everyday lives and amplifying issues of racial justice in their social media networks.
Michelle and I hoped Starbucks would work with us on a public awareness campaign addressing racism and helping people recognize implicit biases. After all, Schultz’s response to the incident in Philadelphia appeared genuine, and the all-company training seemed like a productive first step. Not to mention he has built his public persona as a socially responsible CEO with an understanding of the crucial issues of race in America.
But then, the night before his book event, Schultz appeared in a CNN Town Hall, where he recounted the story of the day Robinson and Nelson were arrested in the Philadelphia Starbucks. His retelling of the…
