By now everyone has heard of the incident at a Philadelphia Starbucks involving the unnecessary arrest of two black men at the store that has led to the company closing hundreds of stores on May 29 for employee implicit racial bias training. Since the closing was announced, I’ve seen some mixed reviews about it.
On one hand, there are the people that encourage Starbucks to go forward with the closing. On the other, there are those claiming the opposite. I’ve seen a few articles such as those from The New York Times and Business Insider question whether racial bias training will work at all and whether the problem is much deeper than what racial bias training can solve.
I’ve also seen comments calling it nothing more than a PR move on Starbucks’ part and that racial bias training is not needed at all and it inhibits paying customers from getting their coffee.
No matter where you fall on the spectrum, I think there is one thing we can all agree on (and if you don’t you need to open your eyes): no matter how it’s done, the issue of racism that people of color face every day needs to be addressed and it needs to be fixed.
Take a moment to imagine this: you are a black man, maybe you’re out with a friend, and you’re just walking down the street hanging out and talking, yet you have to remain conscious of every move that you make. You try not to walk too quickly, or make any sudden movement or else people around you will become suspicious. You keep your hands out of your pockets. That new hoodie you got yesterday? You purposely left it at home.
Every time you walk into a store, you notice the employees are staring at you, only you. You don’t have any poor intentions, all you want to do is walk around just like everyone else, yet you are the one being scrutinized.
You and your friend hop in the car to drive home. On the way, you pass by a police car parked on the side of the road, probably on his usual patrol. You immediately make sure you are driving not a single mile over the speed limit and don’t look in his direction as to not draw attention to yourself.
You sit behind the driver’s seat, rigid with fear that he will notice you and single you out to pull you over. You don’t want to be the next story on the news.
Imagine being the mother of a young black person. You are forced to take away their innocence at a young age and explain to them that there are people in this country who hate them and will use any excuse to hurt them. You have to explain to them how to act when they inevitably are pulled over.
When they leave the house you fear that they won’t return. When you see the next headline on the news “Black Man Shot By the Police” your heart sinks into your stomach and you desperately hope it’s not your child.
This is the reality that black people live through every day. When people are fearing for their lives just for leaving their houses, that’s a problem. When people are arrested for minding their own business at a Starbucks, that is a problem. Whether this racial bias training works or not, at least Starbucks is taking a step in the right direction and starting a conversation.
