How Starbucks Can Fix Its Racism Problem, According to Consultants | Eater
"After the widely publicized arrest of two Black men, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, at a store in Philadelphia, the world’s largest coffee chain closed most U.S. locations for an afternoon of racial-bias training—an action criticized by some as a performative PR stunt and insufficient to address entrenched systemic racism. The company also announced that anyone may sit in stores and use restrooms without making a purchase, provided employees with new guidelines on when to call police, and committed to ongoing diversity and inclusion training with modules rolling out over 12 months and a planned 2019 conference for 15,000 managers. Independent advisers Heather McGhee (Demos) and Sherrilyn Ifill (NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund) recommended a full-scale racial equity overhaul, including in-store audits for differential customer service or policy enforcement, a comprehensive civil-rights audit of policies and outcomes (including workforce diversity and contractors), reviews of recruitment, hiring, retention, pay, promotion, and grievance procedures, clearer employee manuals that explicitly define and address racial discrimination, a Customer Bill of Rights to be posted in stores with reporting contacts (as proposed by Robinson and Nelson), and steps to mitigate the company’s role in gentrification such as convening housing experts, negotiating Community Benefits Agreements, and using linkage fees to fund affordable housing." - Whitney Filloon
