Starbucks wants to add training for store managers on “unconscious bias,” CEO Kevin Johnson said Monday, as activists held more protests at a Philadelphia store where two black men were arrested when employees said they were trespassing.
Johnson, who has called the arrests “reprehensible,” arrived in Philadelphia this weekend after video of the arrests gained traction online. He said he hopes to meet with the two men in the next couple of days and apologize to them face-to-face.
Demonstrators occupy the Starbucks that has become the center of protests Monday, April 16, 2018, in Philadelphia. The CEO of Starbucks arrived in Philadelphia hoping to meet with two black men who were arrested when the coffee chain’s employees called 911 and said they were trespassing. Meanwhile, protesters took over the shop Monday. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)“I’d like to have a dialogue with them and the opportunity to listen to them with compassion and empathy through the experience they went through,” said Johnson, who has been CEO about a year. A lawyer for the two men who were arrested didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
The incident is a major blow to Starbucks’ image, since the company has promoted its coffee shops as neighborhood hangouts where anyone is welcome. After a video of the arrests spread online, the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks trended on Twitter.
And on Monday, protesters took over the Philadelphia shop, chanting slogans such as, “A whole lot of racism, a whole lot of crap, Starbucks coffee is anti-black.” A Starbucks regional vice president who attempted to talk to the protesters was shouted down.