Starbucks, inarguably one of the most well known coffee chains in the world, recently disbanded its race campaign due to negative feedback.
The campaign, which began the week of Mar. 15, 2015, was implemented in order to address the race issues in America.
The goal of the program was for Starbucks baristas to “encourage greater understanding, empathy and compassion toward one another.” The baristas were open to discussing race relations in the United States and wanted to extend the discussion to customers.
Several people took offense to the campaign because the majority of baristas are supposedly minorities, while those who hold leadership positions in the company are mostly white.
The chief executive of Starbucks, Howard D. Schultz, stated that race is an uncomfortable topic and that he felt it was the role of his company to “create pathways of opportunity.”
Employees were merely encouraged to participate in the program, but were not required to do so.
“I felt like the race together campaign was a great way for Starbucks to start the conversation with customers about racial equality in America,” Josh Stapp, a barista at the Starbucks located at 15th and Latimer in Center City, Philadelphia, stated. “It is unfortunate that they felt the need to cancel it because it shows that they are not willing to hold onto their values.”
The exact reasoning behind Starbucks’ plan, however, is a murky one. Some people believe it was part of the company’s political agenda, others think it was to increase competition and the “brand’s cultural relevance”, and some think it was just an advertising technique.
While race relations in America continue to be a pressing issue, the campaign came as a shock to many. Regardless, these issues still exist in America, and it is important to acknowledge them.
Many cities are home to extremely diverse communities, and Philadelphia is no different. Temple University is nicknamed “Diversity University” due to its diverse student population.
The truth of the matter is that talking about race does, in fact, make the majority of us uncomfortable. We don’t want to address the issues unfolding right in front of our very eyes because they are so complicated and controversial.
Temple tries to encourage its student body to talk about race. Every student is required to take a “Race and Diversity” class in order to graduate.
Regardless of the university’s efforts, however, it’s much easier for the majority of us to pretend the problem doesn’t exist. Yet Temple offers a variety of resources and forums to discuss the prevalent problem that exists in every aspect of our lives, including the university. No matter where you are, the question of race relations is going to be a relevant one.
“I don’t think that it was wrong for Starbucks to implement this campaign,” Stapp said. “It is the right of the corporation to express these political views. The problem was that our customer base across the United States doesn’t want to hear about what we think. People would rather be in and out just getting their coffee rather than have an intelligent conversation.”