The CEO of Starbucks has now release a public apology to two black men who were arrested in one of the company’s coffee shops in Philadelphia, in an incident that has rocketed around social media over the last couple days.
Chief executive Kevin Johnson released a statement this weekend confirming that Starbucks “stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling” and indicated that he wants to meet with the two men, who were arrested by Philadelphia police after a store employee called the cops to relay how the pair had just been… sitting in the restaurant.
Seriously.
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The story broke online first when a woman at the Starbucks relayed what was going on (below):
@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018
I just heard they were released at 130am last night. They are real estate brokers and were at Starbucks to meet their family friend. That’s all I have for now.
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 13, 2018
Ever since I posted this, I├óΓé¼Γäóve had white strangers AND friends say “there must be something more to this story.” That assumption is a big part of the problem. It does happen. All the time. Just not to you and me. Believe it and speak up.
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 13, 2018
Outside the Starbucks today pic.twitter.com/vcr9QstkRT
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 14, 2018
Yes, the two men were asked to leave @Starbucks, as the Philly Police said in their statement, but they sat there peacefully and had the nerve to ask WHY they were being asked to leave. What counts as peaceful protest? Isn’t that what this is?!
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 14, 2018
The protest is growing outside the @Starbucks. The woman on the right in the red shirt is 90 years old and told a story about her father who died when she was 9 as a result of racial profiling and police brutality. pic.twitter.com/DxQb5OYtSG
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 14, 2018
According to reports, the Starbucks employee in question called police to say that the men were trespassing; he said the men had come in and asked to use the restroom, but were denied because they didn’t buy anything.
The men then allegedly refused to leave, according to the Starbucks employee.
Johnson’s letter further apologized for the incident (below):
“Our store manager never intended for these men to be arrested and this should never have escalated as it did. We also will further train our partners to better know when police assistance is warranted. Additionally, we will host a company-wide meeting next week to share our learnings, discuss some immediate next steps and underscore our long-standing commitment to treating one another with respect and dignity.”
Police have yet to release the names of the men who were arrested.
What do U think about this, Perezcious readers?
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[Image via Twitter.]
