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Starbucks to close all stores for one day of “racial-bias education”

MASON CITY – If you are looking for some pricy java from Starbucks on May 29, you’ll have to go elsewhere, as the popular coffee chain plans to shut down that day for “racial-bias education” for employees.

In recent days, America’s most-popular coffee franchise, Starbucks, apologized after two African-American men who were waiting in one of their stores for a friend were arrested by police, saying it “stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling.” The incident made national news and had social media brewing with chatter.

“We apologize to the two individuals and our customers for what took place at our Philadelphia store on Thursday,” Starbucks Coffee said this past weekend.

“We regret that our practices and training led to the reprehensible outcome at our Philadelphia store. We’re taking immediate action to learn from this and be better.”

As a result of this stain on the company’s images, on Tuesday, April 17, Starbucks Coffee Company announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in their stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, and will become part of the onboarding process for new partners.

“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.”

All Starbucks company-owned retail stores and corporate offices will be closed in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29. During that time, partners will go through a training program designed to address implicit bias, promote conscious inclusion, prevent discrimination and ensure everyone inside a Starbucks store feels safe and welcome.

“The company’s founding values are based on humanity and inclusion,” said executive chairman Howard Schultz, who joined Johnson and other senior Starbucks leaders in Philadelphia to meet with community leaders and Starbucks partners. “We will learn from our mistakes and reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for every customer.”

The curriculum will be developed with guidance from several national and local experts confronting racial bias. Once completed, the company will make the education materials available to other companies, including our licensee partners, for use with their employees and leadership.

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