Bye Bigoted Baristas! Starbucks To Close All Stores Nationwide For Racial Bias Education

April 17, 2018

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Starbucks Closing All Stores Nationwide On May 29

After not one but TWO racially charged incidents at their stores, Starbucks is announcing a major change. Starbucks today announced today via press release that it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29 to conduct racial-bias education.

A press release from the company says that the move is geared toward preventing discrimination. Nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, will be trained.

“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,” said Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson. “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”

On 5/29, we'll close US company-owned stores to conduct racial-bias training to address implicit bias & prevent discrimination. We're taking a hard look at who we are as a company. We’re ashamed & recognize that racial bias is a problem we must address. https://t.co/xIYc75BJPj

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) April 17, 2018

So far reactions to the news are mixed.

if Starbucks has figured out an impactful way to educate ppl on racial bias in a single afternoon I hope they share their notes with the police https://t.co/8X8YGacgxh

— @PiaGlenn (@PiaGlenn) April 17, 2018

The arrests of the two men in Philly, was awful. Many of us rightfully criticized Starbucks.
But @Starbucks & it’s CEO, are acting responsibly now. They deserve credit for apologizing + taking firm, serious action to address the problem and ensure it won’t happen again. https://t.co/RRyeyYsokc

— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) April 17, 2018

What do YOU think about Starbucks closing for racial bias education???