Back in 2015, Starbucks kicked-off its Race Together campaign – a corporate initiative launched for reasons that the company wanted to do its part in helping to raise social awareness about race in the United States. According to CEO Howard Schultz, the idea was to take advantage of an “opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society – one conversation at a time.” Starbucks published an insert in 2 million copies of USA Today to explain why it wanted to do engage a conversation about one of the country’s more sensitive topics. The eight-page insert (published March 20, 2015), included a series of eye-catching statements like:
“White people control almost 90 percent of the nation’s wealth.”
This is a striking number when you consider that only 67 percent of households in the U.S. are white. This occurs in spite of the fact that the census documents that the U.S. population is increasingly shifting toward minority-majority status (these numbers are based on Federal Reserve statistics published in 2013; the trend continues as of 2019).
Starbucks baristas were asked to write #RaceTogether” on customers’ coffee cups while serving them; that was how they let them know they were specially selected to engage in a conversation on the topic. This particualr part of the campaign was abruptly ended within the short period of a week after causing a backlash of criticism.
Race Under Fire
Criticism was swift, severe, and….well, sadly funny. Many pointed to the event as a classic example of a corporate top-down driven initiative that was undertaken without much foresight or planning. Others highlighted the apparent hypocrisy of a predominantly wealthy white management asking its comparatively non-white workforce to shoulder the burden of a conversation that was disingenuous and saturated with contradiction. For example, at a salary of $21 million per year, CEO Schultz makes about $10,000 an hour. Starbucks baristas, on the other hand, make on average only twice that amount— annually!
Critics pointed out that if Starbucks really cared about race and racial justice, it would use its vast resources to do more than simply encourage people chat up a barista about race over coffee; they would take a hard look at their own contribution to the country’s growing social inequality — which Starbucks, like many other large corporations in the U.S., illustrates through example how its business practices tend to reinforce rather than mitigate against these socio-economic trends.
Parody is Flattery ….or maybe not
“Saturday Night Live” ridiculed Starbucks’ campaign in a skit announcing the launch of a mock campaign called “Genderflect” that encouraged auto mechanics to talk about gender and sexual identity with customers. “We think Starbucks is on the right track,” a narrator says in the mock ad. “So we at Pep Boys are starting a conversation too. This month all Pep Boys mechanics are encouraged to start a dialogue with you about gender and sexual identity … because if we don’t talk about these issues, who will?”
#RaceTogether and the Harm of Racial Ignorance
To some, encouraging people to talk about “race” sounds like a step up from a culture that prefers to indulge the post-racial fantasy that racism is a “thing of the past.”
The problem here is that rather than thinking through the best practices that might foster a productive discussion about race and racism, Starbucks company executives seemed content to just sort of tell everyone else that they need to discuss the topic without providing any educational resources or guidelines. In a letter to his employees, CEO Schultz stated that he conceived of the idea “not to point fingers and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are.” In other words, while Schultz thinks race is a really important topic, he has nothing in particular to say about it except that there is no one to blame.
Sociologist Crystal Flemming writes that “one of the reasons why it is so difficult to have public conversations about race is the fact that very few people have actually studied race seriously, either on their own or within an educational setting.
Starbucks is actually contributing to the misconception that “race” is something that doesn’t require education to discuss. The truth is that many people have never taken a class on the subject, attended an anti-racist workshop or even read a book about the history of racism. Conversations based on racial ignorance are actually quite harmful and have the potential to alienate people who have experienced racism or lost loved ones to racial violence.” Consequently, we stand to do more harm than good when we encourage random members of the public who have not studied race to share their uninformed opinions with others who are likely to be similarly uninformed.
Research on Talking About Race
Research on racial attitudes has demonstrated that there are wide swaths of the majority population who believe that talking about race at all is itself racist. Some have gone as far as to say that critiques of white people, individual or collective, are inherently hateful – merely an example of racialized groups “playing the race card.” This critique proposes that racism is over, the real racists are the ones that want to talk about race.
Such thinking, unfortunately, by virtue of its aim to minimize and outright deny the existence of racial inequality, makes worse and perpetuates a cultural ideology of white supremacy. As philosopher Charles Mills explains, these various attempts at denial produce an “epistemology of ignorance”–a way of knowing and constructing the world built on a lack of knowledge about the social and political realities of race.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, a professor of sociology at Duke University, conducted extensive empirical research on racial attitudes among college students. These findings are published in his acclaimed book “Racism Without Racists.” The book documents how beneath our twenty-first century contemporary conversation about race lies a full-blown arsenal of arguments, phrases, and stories that whites use to account for—and ultimately justify—racial inequalities. This “new racism,” as he calls it, is of a more hidden and difficult-to-detect variety than the overt forms of racism that pre-dated the civil rights movement.
Bonilla-Silva takes issue with the belief that America has evolved to become a color-blind society. He says it is a mistake to think that just because Barack Obama attained the office of the Presidency that racism is over. Instead, he argues that racism has only changed faces; rather than outright discrimination, people of color experience more subtle forms of racism that rely on socially coded cues and loaded language to reflect bias.
Patricia Hill Collins, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, examines race as a system of power, which she compares to other systems of power, i.e. patriarchy and heterosexism. She’s particularly interested in acknowledging the different ways in which power (particularly that which infuses transnational politics and institutions) underlies transnational forms of authority. This power, she notes, depends on sustaining historically constructed notions about racialized, gendered identities, which were (and still are) instrumental in validating this authority.
In light of this work, we might reflect and consider how an institution like Starbucks, which represents a globalized culture, both reflects and reinforces the intersectional effects of race, class, and gender.
Discussion Questions:
Why do you think Starbucks’ senior management team tried (and failed) to lead a national conversation about racial diversity, when it is rather obvious that they don’t reflect the value of diversity in their own business practices?
Do you think that people, whites and non-whites alike, might have felt racially profiled when receiving their cup of coffee with the hashtag #Racetogether?
How do you think people might feel when confronted by a stranger and aske questions about race? How would you personally have felt about being asked to have this conversation?
Lastly, if you look at issues like this and others that involve race and don’t see why it’s a big deal, or you feel “triggered,” then there is perhaps an interesting question you might ask yourself:
What is it like to be socialized in such a way that you can respond with emotional detachment (or anger) to the strong/upset reactions people of color have to the problem of racism in society? Have you ever said something like “there’s no need to always make everything a race issue – that’s divisive?”
Did you grow up in a racially homogeneous environment, where you had low/no level of social contact with non-white people? And if so, what would it take for you arrive at a place of understanding?
It is hard to know why the leaders of Starbucks wanted to start a campaign like this, the only we can do, however, is to guess based on why people before them tried too. Some corporations tried campaigns like this in order to attract more customers and bring attention to their businesses. However, most of them hope that it would be good attention, which was not the case of Starbucks. And the only other reason that I can think is the fact that they actually wanted to try and start important conversations. However, they went about it the wrong way and did not fix what was wrong with their demographics before starting that conversation. Which is where they face planted and what people pocked at to make a joke out of what they were trying to do.
I do feel like people may have felt racially profiled when receiving their cups with the #RaceTogether hashtag. Whites may have felt like they were being cornered and the cup was basically telling them “This is your fault so you have to talk about it.” and non-whites may have felt like the things that they face every day was being shoved in their faces even when they just wanted some coffee.
I think that people in general may have felt like “coffee time” was the time to be asked those kinds of questions and being forced to have a conversation about such a sensitive subject. I think that if I was in that situation, that I would not want to have that conversation at that time, despite it concerning me. I think such conversation cannot happen the way that we want them to if people feel like they’re being cornered and forced to have the conversation. All people are going to try to do is to run away, even the people that it concerns.
Starbucks’ senior management team had a decent idea of trying to practice anti-racism and attempting to spread awareness on racial diversity, but I find it kind of funny and embarrassing that Starbucks (a coffee shop) felt the need to do this. It failed because the company itself lacks diversity. Starbucks workers signed up to make drinks not have awkward conversations. Only 16% of Starbucks employees are colored and there were no colored hands presented in the pictures they had posted which shows even more that they had no place in doing this. And of course, it would fail if there were no racial diversity structured into the company. Along with this I feel like whites and non-whites would feel racially profiled because of the fact Starbucks, which is kind of ignorant towards racial diversity is trying to spread awareness on this topic. I feel customers would feel profiled or put on the spot with these conversations too. Especially when Starbucks has the stereotype of being a “white” thing like “white girls loving Starbucks”. So, I can definitely see for example a white worker asking a poc about racial inequality and it just being absolutely awkward or taken the wrong way. I honestly couldn’t fathom working at a job that revolves around selling/making coffee and being told one day that I now have to start these conversations with customers. Overall, I feel like they made a good effort in “trying” to combat this issue, but they definitely don’t have a place to do so.
The Starbucks team failed to construct a socially inclusive movement because they didn’t truly practice what they were trying to spread. The idea behind the conversation was there but they missed all of the steps needed to make it successful. The statistics showing that only 16% of Starbucks executives are African American is baffling. Plus the fact that in all of the advertisement pictures it only showed white hands. They should have had multiple races shown on the advertisement to show inclusion and that talking about race is something that can be done with everyone. Talking about race should be up to the person. They shouldn’t feel obligated to interact with the people around them about race solely based on what their coffee cup said on the side that morning. What was even worse about the #RaceTogether event was not everyone received the same cup with the saying. So not only did they show very little effort in showing diversity within the company as well as advertisements but singled certain people out they felt should talk about their race. The issue there is the person who got the saying on their cup could feel profiled because they are seen as someone who needs to talk about race. With race being such an intense topic it is reckless to expect singled out people to openly talk about race and not feel judged or profiled. Starbucks could have put the preparation in and turned this into an impactful event if they would have educated themselves first.
Do you think that people, whites and non-whites alike, might have felt racially profiled when receiving their cup of coffee with the hashtag #Racetogether?
I feel it is sufficient to say that customers may have felt racially profiled when getting their coffee with “#Racetogether” written on it. It is an invitation not asked for to engage in a conversation that they may not want to participate in…, especially with a stranger. In a way, it is subtly intending that because a customer may be of a different race that they will be willing to discuss race with the barista. The notion of being invited into this conversation based on one’s race in itself has unsettling undertones. A person’s race is not an open advertisement to discuss racial issues. What I also would like to highlight is that Starbucks did not provide any educational sources or credibility to bring about this subject. A large issue when discussing race is when no prior education on the subject has been absorbed. This statement stretches beyond discussions of race. It applies to any debate on any subject, where empirical data or statistics reign over general statements that cater to opinion.
Starbucks’ Race Together campaign had terrible planning behind the message they wanted to give out. And with that, this campaign failed terribly. I think they had an idea that could work in the sense that they wanted to spread awareness. They knew their company did not have diversity in their business practice, so they thought this campaign could substitute for their poor actions. What I am curious about is who the barista was told/thought fit in this category to write #RaceTogether on their coffee cup and what type of conversation they would get out of it. With no education about the topic being given to the employees, I find that very disappointing to try to run this campaign forward. People who were confronted with the Race Together cups probably did not know how to react, considering they were at Starbucks to buy a cup of coffee. It may make the customer feel like they are being put on the spot and categorized even though the campaign was intended to spread awareness. The company could have put more time and effort to spread awareness of race. They are such a major fan-favorite brand that customers like, so they could have considered different types of campaigns.
I personally think that the senior management team failed for numerous reasons, the main one being the obvious lack of research and little care about the whole situation that they tried to make seem that they were doing right. It’s like they didn’t even try to take in account the ideas of non-whites so that they could actually try and make a difference and to show support the correct way. In my opinion I honestly think the most people didn’t even read the hashtag on the cup nor did they care because quite frankly its not something that they have to focus on because its just words on a cup that they probably won’t even read. I think most people are uncomfortable to answer because they feel as if they may say something “wrong” and will face backlash. I personally would be open to having a conversation about race so that I could become more knowledgable on the situation. I have never said that to myself because I have compassion for the people going through the problems, even though I personally do not know what is like to go through racial inequalities, I have been around my friends hat have and they talk about it and it has allowed me to learn the things that they have faced in life. I personally grew up with everyday contact with white people because I played multiple sports growing up and I was the only white kid on the team, and fast forward 10-15 years laters those kids have become my best friends and like family to me .
While the thought behind the Starbucks #Racetogether seems to be of good intentions, it failed. The Starbucks #Racetogether campaign was a house built on a poor foundation, as the senior management lacks racial diversity itself leading to the campaign’s failure. Additionally, the management staff more or less gave the order to baristas to racially profile customers to decide who should be engaged in a conversation about racial diversity. While racial inequality is an issue that needs to be addressed in America from the corporate level to everyday life, I feel this was not a very respectful way of going about it. While this campaign was considered by many to be a massive failure, it can be used as an example of what not to do going forward, because as a whole we still need to address the elephant in the room. Other corporations should strive to generate a more inclusive method of engaging their consumers to promote diversity and inclusion.
I don’t think this particular campaign was well thought through or planned at all and the results reflected that as the only outcome that it achieved was making both employees and customers uncomfortable. I can perhaps see what the intend behind the campaign was though.
Again, you are demonstrating very little effort here…your points on the assignment will reflect this.
I think Starbucks’ senior management team failed to lead a national conversation about racial diversity because of their lack of knowledge and hypocrisy because they didn’t do what they preached. They tried to lead a national conversation about race but don’t show no type of diversity in their company. Because not all cups included the hashtag “RaceTogether,” which makes customers wonder why they received a particular cup and makes them feel different from other customers when the cup’s intended effect should have been to make people feel alike, I believe both whites and blacks felt racially profiled. I think people might feel uncomfortable when confronted by a stranger and asked questions about race because it is a very deep topic because of history and other factors. I don’t think I would feel uncomfortable having that conversation, but it would catch me off, guard. I think it’s a hurtful feeling to be socialized in such a way that you can respond with emotional detachment (or anger) to the strong/upset reactions people of color have to the problem of racism in society. I can say I grew up in a racially homogeneous environment for most of my life but there were times in my life when I went to predominately white schools so I can it’s I am comfortable around many different races.
I feel like many people who are confronted by a stranger and asked questions about race would feel uncomfortable and nervous. I know that I would certainly feel that way. I would be scared that I would say something wrong and I would be judged for what I said. I feel like many others would feel the same way too. The article said one of the many reasons that a conversation like this is difficult is because not many people have actually educated themselves on the topic of race. Conversations like this can actually be harmful and just cause more problems. There’s a lot of people out there who will attack you for your opinions instead of actively listening to your opinions and having a civil conversation. I think that Starbucks senior management failed to lead a national conversation about racial diversity because writing something on a cup isn’t enough to make an impact. They didn’t even use different races in one of their press photos. Starbucks didn’t do enough to show that they cared about racial equality. Instead, they possibly made people uncomfortable when selecting whose cup should they write “race together” on.
I personally can see how someone being confronted with a question about race could easily be uncomfortable or not wanna give an opinion. I’ve seen teachers call on students and ask opinions and seen these conversations in public and it is a very uncomfortable feeling to be approached and asked questions about it. Most people are scared to give an opinion because they are afraid of judgment or possibly being called racist if giving a different opinion. Now why there are people who are quick to judge, others may actually listen and understand your point of view if presented professionally. I personally don’t think Starbucks went about this correctly as it is simple to put something on a cup of coffee, but when asked about it do they have the information to support their standings. I think it is usually answered with a no as a worker at starbucks isn’t gonna try to argue or talk about political views. I also think if starbucks cared as much as they were supposed to there would have been more than just a writing on a cup to promote this. I am personally not exactly sure what else starbucks could have done, but by just simple putting #race together on a cup you aren’t doing anything besides possibly making the problem worse. Overall race can always be an uncomfortable topic to talk about especially depending on the situation. The Starbucks company could have gone a way better route than to put a saying on a cup and try to have a barista talk about it.
People who are confronted by a stranger and asked questions about race may feel uncomfortable. They feel uncomfortable because not only do they not know what they’re asking of them when they ask this question, but why they are asking them this question. They can feel personally attacked or even judged by the person asking them this question. People have opinions, and when they have opinions, you never know if they see certain things in a good way or bad way. If someone asked me about race, my mind would race and have a million thoughts. I won’t know if this person has a opinion about race that I don’t agree with, or even trying to attack me for my race. The person could also be asking me this question to get a glimpse of my opinion and try to maybe get a better understanding of others. Especially if they aren’t the same race as me. Maybe they would like to see if they can relate to me or something.
The Starbucks’ senior management team tried to lead a national conversation about diversity and race and failed to do that. They failed due to the lack of education and experience with this topic. Most baristas aren’t going to know everything about culture or race and making them write ‘#RaceTogether” on cups, won’t help. This was a way to start conversation with customers about racial justice. Now, when you want to talk about racial justice, would you really want to talk about it over a cup of coffee? Starbucks is a popular and big company. Starbucks has a variety of customers and other ways to spread awareness. I believe there was a better way to spread that awareness then making people feel profiled. Also, based off of the reading, the baristas were told to do this by the CEO. If I worked for that Starbucks and was told to do this, I would refuse. The baristas had a choice to not write this on the cups. They chose to do it simply because they were told to. Just because your boss tells you to do something doesn’t mean you can’t question it or suggest something else. Another thing is, who got the cup? Was it every customer? Who decided that they will only give cups out to this group of people? I believe Starbucks could’ve gone another direction and not caused people to be uncomfortable and profiled.
With the idea they felt was a fantastic one, I think Starbucks management utterly failed. On a subject this vital, it is both sad and somewhat funny that they came up with such a ridiculous idea. The fact that they would write on particular cups and give them to particular people in an effort to spark conversation about the important topic of race seems like a joke to me. What would change if I simply had a simple conversation with a barista at Starbucks? I would laugh in their face if they handed me a cup with that written on it. Who would want to discuss such a sensitive subject with a random barista who is probably not educated about the questions they are asking? I would almost feel forced to talk in this situation. I agree that if Starbucks truly cared about race and racial equality, they would go above and beyond than simply having a barista talk to customers about race. You are telling me that Starbucks, one of the largest chains of fast food restaurants, came up with nothing else? How did they choose whose cup to write #Racetogether on is my question. I start to wonder if they targeted particular people. I am just curious as to who actually agreed this would be a good idea since Starbucks is a chain cooperative and I know there are undoubtedly a ton of people that work in the cooperate offices. Probably a lot more ideas than this one could have been 30x better.
The Starbucks management tried to lead a national conversation about race and diversity to create conversation to make society more inclusive, but failed due to their lack of education and experience in these topics. Starbucks, a large company many people go to daily, has the platform to spread awareness to this issue and would have been successful with a different approach. Both whites and non-whites, I believe, felt racially profiled due to not every cup having the hashtag, RaceTogether, so it makes the customer wonder why they received the cup and makes them feel different from others when the cup’s purpose should have been to do the opposite. These cups made customers feel profiled by the baristas. I think people feel uncomfortable and awkward when asked by a stranger about race because that is not something many people want to share or know about others when it might not be the same as theirs. I would feel the same way as this is not a proper etiquette question for others. If somebody is being socialized in a way that they need to release anger and emotion then this is ok and this would happen if somebody is dealing with an offensive person who does not understand the issue of socialization themselves and is projecting it in a wrong way to another person. I grew up in a military household, so we would constantly move from location to location, even different countries, so I have a level of understanding when it comes to diversity.
I think Starbucks’ senior management team failed at trying to lead a national conversation about racial diversity because of the way they were doing it. Baristas wrote on cups “#RaceTogether” as a way to open a conversation with customers about racial justice. It is funny that is what they came up with when there is a lot of money they can use to shine light on the subject. If I wanted to have a conversation on such a sensitive topic, I do not think my first thought would be talk to that Starbucks barista. Also, that is a lot of accountability the CEO put on his employees because they need to be educated on the topic and truly understand it to be able to have a conversation. The baristas also were the ones making the decision on who to give the cup to with the hashtag #RaceTogether. What went into deciding who would receive the cup and why? Did all people of color receive the cup and therefore maybe make them feel racially profiled. The racial diversity in Starbucks is poor because only 16% of Starbucks executives are people of color. That right there is a new conversation on its own. I understand people want these sensitive topics to be talked about, but I do not think this was the correct way to do it.
At an early age, my parents taught me that rudeness and stupidity do not discriminate. This principle has stuck with me, despite my upbringing in a vastly white neighborhood. I grew up in Irwin, Pennsylvania; roughly twenty-five miles from Pittsburgh. My family has lived in this area for over four generations. My grandfather was born on Pine Street, in Downtown Irwin. Like me, he grew up in a racially homogenous environment and little has changed in the area since his childhood. Residents in these parts have remained mostly set in their ways as they have not experienced much contact with non-white individuals and folks outside of Pittsburgh. This has an impact on my father as he is half-Filipino. However, people do not see him as Asian, rather they refer to him as Southern. He grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia; not in the deep south but southern enough that it is noticeable. They poke fun at his southern accent and his way of life. Generally, people in the area can tell an “outsider” from an “insider” per se. Unfortunately, these problems became my problems. I grew up as one of the only Asian-American students in my grade. Interestingly, I never was excluded by my classmates because of my race. Perhaps it was because they viewed me as whiter than Asian. However, I have realized that people of my age have a much different outlook on race than children of previous generations. While there remain outliers, people do not judge off external characteristics, but rather on someone’s character and integrity. However, the conversation of race still exists in the modern world. Occasionally, I find myself rolling my eyes at some conversations about race. While I respect the opinions of others, I have found difficulty in seeing the basis of some arguments. More specially, I struggle to relate their argument to racial discrimination. I recall Morgan Freeman said on a podcast, “Race persists in America because people talk about it too much.” Meaning that Race cannot be in the rearview mirror when it is in the conversation of politics daily, especially in today’s media world, regardless of stance. I find myself agreeing with Freeman but disagreeing that Race cannot be forgettable if we do not recall the history of racial discrimination and discuss its existence, when necessary. Possibly, an entire society would have to make a pack to agree racial barriers exists, agree change is needed, agree to the change required, then agree to never speak/think of it again. However, this type of situation is both ridiculous and unfeasible. Most likely, if we go forward with Freeman’s argument, we will only hurt the cause rather than help it. Therefore, race can never be a solvable problem; however, we can find avenues toward creating a better society.
When discussing pathways of solving race, it can be simple to believe the change from the top would accelerate its progression. However, this has not been the case. Starbucks, one of the most popular coffee brands, has put forward ideas to solve these issues. For example, for some time, they put “#Racetogether” on all their coffee cups. This small gesture has had negative effects. Some, including myself, do not feel that we are being heard properly. While some may believe this gesture of inclusivity has an effect, some may find themselves offended. For example, non-whites can mean different things: African, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, and many other types of races on our planet. Furthermore, their prospection of themselves varies from culture to culture. Thus, no two races think alike. Lumping everyone together takes away what makes our cultures unique. It does not give credit to the things that make us who we are. Furthermore, it does not create diversity. Separating people by whites and non-whites does not solve the issue at hand. It pins people against each other and takes away the substance of the conversation of inclusivity. To be together is to be together. Not separated by boys on one side of the gym, and girls on the other side like in a typical middle school dance. While tackling the issue of racial discrimination can be difficult, if society works together, a better tomorrow is possible.
Having conversations regarding Race can be tricky. To some, their culture does not influence their personality. Others, find connections to their culture to build around their personhood. Truthfully, one cannot possibly have a valuable conversation about another race without first getting to know this person. Furthermore, not knowing someone and then asking questions about their culture might detract them from engaging in a conversation. This can be connected to that person feeling that they were stereotyped. This can be because they might create a false interpretation of the conversation. This could be because if you are from a particular culture, you are bound to know every detail of your heritage. This is simply incorrect. For example, I know next to nothing about the Philippines. I have never tried any food or traditions of my heritage. This could be a failure on my part, but my ancestry is not a part of my stance on myself. Therefore, I could never carry on a conversation about Filipino culture. While I recognize that others have strong attachments to their heritage, I can live my life without knowing information about my culture. I do get upset when people question my philosophy on this. But I remember, it is none of their business, the same way it is not of my business to judge them for their principles. Furthermore, society must allow people to do whatever brings them happiness. Not to judge their opinions and beliefs. This is something we have failed at in the social media/pop culture era. Nonetheless, while these conversations can be difficult, it is first important to know the person you are talking to before engaging in a conversation about their Race.
I think that Starbucks started this campaign to portray something that they weren’t. They wanted their customers and workers to feel very comfortable with one another- so comfortable that they would be willing to discuss race over a drink. Still, they approached this campaign with a certain ignorance. Instead of getting feedback from customers or their employees on this idea, they went ahead and just launched it which was their first mistake. The next problem comes within the conversations, not once did the Starbucks executives step back to think about how this campaign could put someone in a very uncomfortable position. For example, if an employee (who happened to be a person of color) ran into a person who happened to be very conservative and bigoted; striking up a conversation with this person may make the employee very uncomfortable or may even put their life in danger. Additionally, you can tell that the Starbucks executives didn’t really take this movement seriously since they used a picture of multiple white-appearing employees in order to get their race-together movement across. If they were serious about this campaign then they would’ve used people of multiple skin colors/shades in order to show that they really mean business. It seems like they just wanted to come off as ethnically diverse in order to score some brownie points with people of color.
Understandably, people want racial diversity to be a normal, non-controversial issue. But the reality is that there is a difference between talking about it as something normal that happens every day and a company making a campaign about it. Because this can generate a negative reaction in people, which is what happened with the Starbucks campaign. A company that does not have this issue as something normalized cannot pretend to make a campaign from one day to the next and have it be well received by society. I also believe that both white and non-white people may have felt racially profiled when receiving their cup with that hashtag. This is because everyone is in a different world and knowing that not every cup has #Racetogether written on it may have offended them. Starbucks is known for its publicity stunts such as misspelling people’s names for them to share on social media. So, it should not be surprising that this campaign is nothing more than a publicity stunt in favor of the company and therefore they did not give much importance to studying the reaction that people could have.
Some questions that rise from this article for me are why did upper management not see back lash coming for their poorly executed business? I feel like work they tried to do was rushed and even forced. Racial conversion in America can be difficult for those uneducated or closed minded but it shouldn’t be sprung customers who simply came in for coffee. For me, I’ve always known about race. I knew from a young age because I had to know that because Im Black in America, I would be treated differently. I had to know how to interact with other races and especially the police since I was ten. I got my first experience with racism when I moved to an all predominantly white high school from my predominantly black middle school. It was a culture shock for sure, it felt like I moved to a immigrated to a new country and had to assimilate. It was difficult because the people were different, they had predetermined expectations of what I’d be like as a stereotypical black kid and it was weird for me. I struggled finding friends and in relationships off the most simple shit, the fact that I was black and everyone else was white. It taught me how to learn and fend for myself, how to be okay with who I was, and to really just adapt. My last few thoughts on this article is that I believe it always time to start the conversation. But the convo should be started when ppl are at least ready to listen and understand. Im not too naive to believe that people are going to change or change easily because they won’t, but as long as people are willing to hear what Blacks have to say, and really just shut up for a minute and listen. Only then will the conversation for better be able to honestly take off.
I believe that race is an important subject that needs to be discussed. Although I understand the idea that Starbucks was trying to get at, I don’t necessarily think that it was the best way to go about it. I don’t really think that a customer trying to talk to a barista about racial equality is going to change much if anything at all. In addition, the whole campaign seems to be a way to cover up the fact that the company’s owners don’t believe in racial equality. I feel that if someone were to be approached by a stranger and asked questions about race, it wouldn’t go over well. Even today, I feel like that it’s just not something that you approach a stranger about. Although, I believe that someday we will be able to have these conversations more openly. Being someone who went to a high school where I’d say was 95% or more of a white population and additionally lived and still lives in a white neighborhood, I’m already at a place of understanding that there should be racial equality. From that, I truly believe that racism is something that is taught.
The Starbucks’ senior management team tried and failed to lead a national conversation about racial diversity because they are uneducated about racial diversity. I do think that whites and non-whites felt racially profiled when receiving a cup with #Racetogether on it. This was definitely a publicity stunt because it was not written on every cup. If someone were to be confronted by a stranger and they ask them questions about race they would most likely feel uncomfortable no matter the situation. I know if someone came up to me and asked me about race I would feel scared and uncomfortable. Yes, I grew up in a racially homogeneous environment but it didn’t take me long to arrive at a place of understanding. Even going to school was a racially homogeneous environment as well. Growing up I was able to understand many things about growing up in that kind of environment and my parents also educated me on certain things.
Race is definitely an important topic that needs to be discussed in our today’s society, but I do not think doing it at Starbucks in appropriate. The problem with is they are asking their workers to choose random customers to start this racial conversation with, when one they do not have the time to talk about this topic while having to wait on hundreds of customers a day and another reason being this topic can easily go downhill if the barista and the customer have two different opinions about this campaign. While talking to a customer they are more than likely not going to be honest if you express your opinion first, they are going to just agree with what you say to avoid confrontation or ignore the question just so they can get their daily coffee and go on with their day.
I think they tried and failed for a few reasons. To start, Starbucks is a very popular business and that can make them really transparent to the public. Since they are so popular when they tried to start this campaign the public could see right through them. They understand right away that this is just a way for them to make money. They can see that this company has done nothing actually productive to actually help racial issues. Like putting a Starbucks in black community to reach out to the people they are supposedly trying to help and support. And not even having people of color who are high up in this company with real power to make a difference. It also sticks out to the public when they find out that he just did this on a whim to try and win a popularity contest in his state, and people already were not a fan. People want to see a big change in racial issues, because it is the right thing to do, and he is trying to prove to people that he can do that right thing. It just comes off as selfish and ignorant to an important issue going on in the world today .
For being around during the rise of large companies trying to make “big” changes with their campaigns, it’s always funny to see them fail spectacularly. What I mean is, some of these efforts backfire and have the complete opposite effect, in this case, Starbucks was attempting to get a conversation started about trying to put an end to racism, but ended up being called the racists. It is rare for a big companies to know what they’re doing in situations like this, but it’s always fun to see them try.
I think Starbucks’ management tried and failed with the attempt to participate in this conversation about racial diversity because they were only doing it as a publicity stunt, trying to get others attention and promote their business to bring in more money. I don’t think both white and black people felt racially profiled when getting a cup that says #Racetogether, because for white people oppression because of their race has never been a problem, and the conversation of #Racetogether is about the equality of black people. It depends how open minded someone is to judge how they would feel about being asked these questions because it doesn’t have to be an argument people just have to be aware of their knowledge and lack there of and be understanding of the struggles black people go through. I would feel fine having these conversations because they’re important to have and important to be heard. I do not look at these issues as if they are not a big deal because they are and people who feel as if its not a major problem and having them is not necessary, don’t acknowledge the problem and the discrimination black people feel and the statement “its not a big deal” makes it pretty obvious they have never felt discrimination and are ignorant on the topic.
I think that it is “cringy” to think that Starbucks did this. Especially when there’s that stereotype of white girls loving Starbucks. It just doesn’t make sense that they would put such little effort into “starting a conversation” on racial issues. It’s like the CEO was laying in bed one night thinking, “ah you know what would help the world? A hashtag on a cup.” If this was written on my cup, I would most likely just see it and blow it off or be confused about what it really meant. I feel like black people would see this offensively because of how little research (if any) was done for this and the little amount of effort put into it. It’s embarrassing.
You have no idea how incredibly accurate this observation is…because that’s exactly what the CEO did!
In my honest opinion, I think that Starbucks’ senior management team and its whole organization was under the influence of the current time. Racial diversity is one of society’s problems which haunts people of color every day. While the world must deal with many other racial problems such as this, Starbucks used this as an opportunity to promote themselves into making more money. For example, the Kevin Jackson quote explains it perfectly, as Starbucks feels they will prove better financially in white neighborhoods over predominantly Black ones. Overall, Starbucks failed because they tried to enter a conversation that they shouldn’t have necessarily involved themselves in.
Yes, I think that the #RaceTogether hashtag on the cup of coffee may have caused whites and non-whites to feel a certain type of way, also leading to the failure of the Starbucks’ campaign. I think it would make people of any race feel that they are being pointed out in society. Furthermore, the hashtag questions why the company is finally making this change now, and makes people take a look into ways this move makes no sense with the company’s actions. If I was asked to have a conversation about race, or answer questions, I feel that my answers will be judged no matter what comes out of my mouth. I think people including myself would first ponder what the questioning person thinks, and that would alter our given answer.
I grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood, and it took me until I entered by first years of high school to come to a place of understanding, to truly understand the importance of race and how that had affected me in the past and the possibility of having that same affect in the future.
I can see where people would backlash at Starbucks because of nothing really getting done, other than just #RaceTogether written on the cups and having a conversation. I think it’s the thought that counts, and the fact that they started something like a base to build up on and spread awareness. As to where nothing is being talked about at all.
I personally believe that when Starbucks’ senior management team tried and failed, when they wanted to lead a national conversation about race is because they have not studied nor know how to properly construct a racial conversation. If they really wanted to make a difference about racial diversity is to include people of color to work at Starbucks’ locations. I do believe that whites and non-whites alike felt racially profiled when receiving a cup with #Racetogether, simply for the fact that this was not on every cup and was written by baristas. Certain baristas could have biased opinions about other races and would purposely write #Racetogether as a quiet form of racism. If people were to go up to random people and start talking about race, I feel like many people would either shut down or feel targeted. If I were asked to have this conversation I would feel very uncomfortable, since I have not studied up enough on race and racial diversity to make a justified answer. I think that whenever you are being social and you feel as though you need to respond with emotional detachment or anger, it is completely justified since that is how you feel and letting the other person/people know how the conversation is making you feel. I have never said anything like “theres no need to always make everything a race issue,” people of color are not making it an issue they just want to be heard. My neighborhood has a pretty good mix of white and colored people, predominantly African Americans.
I do believe that Starbucks’ senior management team tried (and failed) to lead a national conversation about racial diversity. It is rather obvious as they do not reflect the value of diversity in their own business practices. Out of Starbucks’ nineteen executives, only three of them are people of color. I assume that they tried to lead a national conversation about racial diversity because they believe it is the “right thing to do.” But, they lack the knowledge and resources needed to have a successful conversation about race. Their conversation of race can be hypocritical since Starbucks is a predominantly white and wealthy company with most stores not being located in minority neighborhoods. This racial ignorance can cause individuals to feel alienated if they have experienced racism or lost someone due to racial violence. Denying racial inequality, being a color-blind society, and believing there is no one to blame for racial disparities, are all problems that need to be addressed while having a conversation about race.
The reason for Starbucks #RaceTogether campaign was quite simple: to gain the support of minorities in order to increase publicity and therefore overall sales of the popular coffee chain. Now while there may have been individuals who thought this was a genuine attempt to decrease racism, the public certainly did not see it that way. I truly think this reaction was due to the fact that people really don’t like being educated on a subject that they know the source shouldn’t be involved in or has no passion for. People really did not want to hear it from a billion dollar coffee chain that they were passionate about halting the advance of racism when in fact Starbucks themselves were not at all engaged in inclusive practices. It’s one thing if people don’t like hearing about racism, but it’s a totally different feeling of negativity when the message is sent from a company that is not even taking its own advice.
I personally grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood and I think I have been raised by the media more so than anything on how to be inclusive. From the moment I entered into this world, the media has shown us all forms of racism and what it does to people so naturally from a young age I knew I never wanted to be that kind of person, nor should anyone else strive to be a racist regardless of how they were raised. With that being said, I truly do see people through the color of their skin but something did seem off with the #RaceTogether campaign. I have no problem admitting that society needs to be a whole lot less racist and I am more than willing to make that happen, however, I as well as many others I’m sure would rather be told that by someone who is hurting rather than one of the richest coffee joints in America that is predominantly white.
The problem with this situation is that Starbucks doing this kind of makes it looks like they want to look good for the company and to be talked about how they are doing it. So, for example, if Starbucks wanted to make a change, I feel like there could have been other options better than the one they decided to do. Doing it the way they did could lead to someone feeling singled out because of their race. This could have also started conversations that could lead to conflict since this topic is a touchy topic regarding people’s opinions on it and what they believe. In the article it Crystal Flemming writes that “one of the reasons why it is so difficult to have public conversations about race is the fact that very few people have studied race seriously, either on their own or within an educational setting”.Instead of taking the route Starbucks did, they could have donated money for classes about race to be more available for anyone to go and learn and or even just more awareness. One other way could be to ask customers to round up their change, and that Starbucks will match it to get more education on race.
I feel as if Starbucks’ campaign failed because it is not their place to talk about race. Like mentioned in the post, Starbucks have the monetary resources needed to give back to the black community but instead they tried to start a conversation amongst people who more than likely are unsure of the topic of race to no fault of their own.
Starbucks’ campaign failed because they did not take into consideration how the company is perceived to the public about this topic. By not taking time to educate themselves and rushing into the campaign they received backlash because this is not how conversations like this should be started. Their customers may have felt attacked when confronted by this question because they are not educated and some of their views are personal and it is not appropriate to force someone to talk about a controversial topic. Starbucks looked like they start the #RaceTogether campaign for the wrong reasons.
I think that the senior management at Starbucks attempted such an action as a means of advertisement to increase sales, especially amid racial protests that were active at that time. With that said, I do think that there were earnest intentions behind this movement, however, the execution was flawed. I think to some extent many of those who did receive cups with the hashtag on them did feel racially profiled. It is likely that when a person is approached by a stranger who brings up the subject of race, depending on the context, one may either get defensive or may engage in the conversation, however, as time has passed, people have seemingly become more open-minded about the subject of race. I would happily engage in a conversation about race because regardless of how controversial it may be to speak of the topic, more conversations should be had to fight ignorance.
Whether there were intentions of more publicity for the company or if this campaign was genuine about raising awareness, I do not think it was thought through well enough. In the article it mentions how race is something that should be studied, and I completely agree. Two misinformed people having a conversation about racial injustices—whether they have gone through it or not, will only lead to more ignorance. I believe this campaign may have offended some people because you never know what someone’s intentions were when choosing your cup of coffee to put the hashtag on.
I think the idea of Race together is something that had great potential, But it could only be achieve by people who are truly trying to make a difference. I think Starbucks used it more as a way for publicity and a marketing thing versus having pure intentions. Which I think is very common in big corporations. Which isn’t saying that some of the people who come up with the ideas to inform others and spread knowledge and awareness to what is going on in the world weren’t actually trying to help, because I think they do. Their ideas just get corrupted by big business who care about making money then actually helping people, and confronting the issues.
The article talked about how Starbucks did a campaign in 2015 called race together, where they raised social awareness about race in the United States. Starbucks posted about their campaign USA today with statements that include racial statistics about how the majority of white people control the nation’s wealth. This statement got a lot of backlash and criticism by the media. It got this reactions because it simply was advertising speaking about race over a cup of coffee. This is an issue because not enough people are educated enough to speak about such a topic which will cause differences between people and even conflict. Overall, in my opinion, I believe it is a good idea by Starbucks to raise awareness for race, but doing it over a cup of coffee is not something I would be interested in doing. I would rather enjoy my coffee than get into a heated debate.
When Starbucks started this “Race Together” campaign they should’ve expected good feedback and backlash. Starbucks taking on the challenge to talk about race was a nice thoughtful idea, but they presented it in the wrong way. The idea of walking into Starbucks and having the worker write “#Racetogether” on my cup to talk about my race would make me not only uncomfortable but it would make me not want to come back because there are other ways of initiating a conversation on the topic. Starbucks did this for publicity of course and didn’t seem to do much research first. Being black in a white America is hard so if you initiate a conversation about race be ready for whatever may be said. Starbucks is made of more white people than any other race and isn’t located in black or minority neighborhoods. It’s nice to have people that want to talk about race but there are certain ways about going about it. I don’t mind talking about race
I was able to learn that Starbucks came up with a campaign. They did this to raise social awareness about race . Everyone didn’t see it in that way . Some people thought it could cause harm and racial ignorance. Which I believe that did happen . Since there not professional on speaking on a topic like that . A sociologist Crystal Flemming thinks that it’s so difficult to have a public conversation about race . Crystal believes because only very few people have actually studied race seriously. I was able to take away from this is that you shouldn’t really speak on what you think . You should be sure about what you know .
I do like their idea they just approached it in the wrong context. Maybe starting out with a quote of the day and work their way up to things like, writing blacklivesmatter on the cups or inspirational quotes from qoutes from different colored leaders. I think a good way to approach this is with a small voluntary meeting where you would sign up, and you’d get to talk about your culture with others there. You could show a new perspective or information about the culture that not everyone is aware of. Starbucks could host the event and show that they care not just about selling products but sharing ethic backgrounds and other morals views.
Some of us promote equality in America, while others do not. I think it was a good attempt for Starbucks to take part in recognizing race protests in America because of the fact that many people drink starbucks. It definitely emphasizes the awareness on race, but can also be disturbing for people who are racist. It can have possibly even pushed customers away because I’m sure the written message didn’t please every one. For Starbucks to think it would positively affect everyone creates expectations that #RaceTogether will never, and already has not met. .
Many of us are in together of making each race equal in America, but some people are not for that. I think it was a good attempt for Starbucks to take part in recognizing race protests in America because of the fact that many people drink starbucks. It definitely emphasizes the awareness on race, but can also be disturbing for people who are racist. It can have possibly even pushed customers away. Therefor, I overall do not see writing “#RaceTogether on starbucks cups to be a positive choice in marketing to raise awareness.
Starbucks’ #race together campaign was obviously an ill thought out one; although seemingly good intentioned, there’s a reason why the campaign ended so quickly; it creates such an uncomfortable situation for employee and customer in a very inappropriate setting. I don’t think anyone walks into a Starbucks expecting to talk about any form of social injustice with his or her barista. Having Starbucks employees who most of the times are rushing to get their jobs done to serve a continuous stream of dozens of people at all hour’s certainty isn’t the place to open up a conversation about race. I wonder how they would go about selecting which customers they wanted to have the conversations with; the post makes a good point when mentioning that many people are very uneducated in terms of race, they don’t understand the social structures imbedded in it, which opens room for ignorant responses and that’s assuming that all people would actually respond truthfully in such a public setting. Not to mention how hypocritical this whole campaign is on Starbucks’ part, a more effective plan to fight racism would actually be taking real action in diversifying the company and representing more people of color rather than enforcing unsolicited conversations between parties who either want to just do their job or get their coffee and be out the door.
There is definitely a need for a conversation about race in America. However, there is a time, place, and way to do so, and during a morning coffee rush is not an appropriate way to do it. The person in front of the counter is coming in for their pre-work cup coffee and the person behind the counter is just trying to make a living. Each of these people is coming in with their own opinion and biases. Randomly picking people discus race with is intimidating and ineffective to it’s cause, the conversation occurring in a coffee house is not really effective either. Whether its, black and white. hispanic and black, asian and hispanic, the whole situation is uncomfortable. It is not likely that you are going to get an honest answer from either party, they are most likely going to say what they think whats to be said to avoid confrontation or making the situation any more awkward. In addition, the worker is put in a vulnerable spot of upsetting a customer who feels they have been profiled or feels the worker has over stepped a boundary.
Race is an important topic of conversation in our society, however the problem is that they are asking workers to choose people at random in order to start a conversation. This is not fair to ask of the workers or of the customers because they may not be properly educated in the topic and will therefore, not know how to start such a conversation. Also, most people would not be interested to sit and talk to a barista about race when they come in to get their morning coffee, which can lead to awkwardness between the customer and worker. A conversation about race needs someone educated in order to discuss the topic and not just a short amount of time. Also, I do think that people asked to have this conversation may feel racially profiled because they will be wondering why it was them that was chosen. If I was asked to have this conversation I would be wondering if the worker chose me because they think I’m racist or that I don’t know about race just because I am white. This can create an uncomfortable atmosphere between the worker and client. I do think that it would be better if the company provided workers with training so that they are not forced to sound ignorant or not know what to say, however, I think the issue awkwardness between the worker and customer and when a right time for such a discussion would be still stands. It may be a better approach if Starbucks actually was active with issues of race in their business, rather than just trying to start a conversation.
I honestly thought that Starbucks #RaceTogether campaign was painfully hilarious. Asking everyday working people to start up a dialogue about an extremely touchy subject is unfathomable. But low and behold that is what corporate leaders expected. Depending on who these employees are talking to that conversation can go south quickly with just one simple misunderstanding. The thing that gets me is how does a company who is predominately white decide to be brazen enough to think this is a good idea? I think no reason is better than the one brought up in class, its just some program someone in the stratosphere of the hierarchy put together lo make themselves look good.
Just one more final thought. A Starbucks is absolutely not the place for this conversation. Most people who walk in barely want idle chitchat, it is just get their coffee and run. Something like this is just stupidity at a massive level.
It was both hilarious and sad. It illustrates how, even if their intentions were within integrity (and not just a money/publicity grab), you can do a lot of damage by not “checking your privilege” and deferring to others to lead the conversation, who have more training and are better educated on the topic.
I believe that the Starbucks team is trying to lead a discussion about racial diversity because that’s the hot topic right now. The goal of the race together campaign in my eyes was not to increase awareness about racial issues but rather a cheap ploy at trying to increase sales. It is very hypocritical of a company to attempt something like this especially when they do not represent any type of serious racial diversity at all.
The main problem with this situation is that the conversation is not appropriate for just ordinary people. Uneducated discussion about racial inequality and diversity is bound to lead to arguments and ignorance on both ends of the discussion. I don’t believe anti-racist is even real, you are either an educated diverse member of the twentieth century or a backwards small minded racist. I believe one day anti-racism will be the normal thoughts of average people.
I would of felt fine with having this conversation. I bring all types of controversial conversations up with people, strangers and friends alike. It is an important conversation but it must be approached in a better way than randomly choosing people to discuss it.
I agree, Josh. I think the racists are a dying breed. And while some are likely to pass this toxic thinking to their children, I have to believe they will be marginalized to the point of not having much of an impact. With that, you are correct that having a conversation about race requires that people – even those who mean well – should make efforts to become more educated about race issues, particulary if they’ve lived a life where they have had the luxury to not have to think about it in a critical way.
I am very interested in reading these comments and the opinions of everyone. Personally, I love reading on topics that can take either extremes. That is the great thing about humanity that we all have different opinions and is okey to agree and disagree with another.
This topic, racism can be a little complex. I appreciate Starbucks motives behind running their campaign, but I highly think they’re reasons are for accomplishing greater market than morality. I am a Starbucks lover and I am not white. However, I can agree with a couple people, Starbucks is predominately white customers and the drinks are expensive for consuming everyday. I believe that they are more so trying to bring greater market to the non dominant race. If “other” people feel as though they are being included and care for they will feel important. Thus, drawing more customers of different races to Starbucks. Very smart Starbucks.
I have read about Starbucks’ “Race Together” campaign prior to discussing this post in class and I have formed a pretty strong opinion about it, which is that it is absolutely ludicrous. The fact that race is something that we need to be almost forced to talk about is an issue of its own. While is does conjure up some strong feelings, it is most definitely a conversation that needs to occur in order to make significant difference about the way race is looked at in our society. However, the way Starbucks decided to go about it does not sit well with me. Picking and choosing the people to have this conversation with can absolutely make customers feel as if they are being racially profiled. Those who are of a minority are targeted enough as is. Baristas engaging them with an insincere discussion of race is only going to increase the difficulty of talking about race. I say the conversations are insincere because the company is forcing its employees to talk about such a complicated issue instead of it coming from a genuine and understanding place. If the conversations are not organic and taken seriously, I don’t think they will have much of an effect. These 30-second, insincere, uncomfortable conversations will not at all fix the issue of race in our society.
I also find it incredibly interesting that the baristas are given all the dirty work. The higher-ups, such as CEO Howard Shultz, create this idea that is believed to be beneficial, but they make others implement it. Maybe if this discussion of race was incorporated in the decisions of the company or in a conversation Starbucks decision makers have with decision makers of another company. I would be more likely to accept this campaign.
All in all, my honest feelings about this campaign are that Starbucks is doing this solely to say that they’ve checked race off of their list of obligations. I think more thought should be put into it. They should train employees as to how to approach these conversations and ways to go about bringing up such a hot topic. Furthermore, Starbucks should take a look at them and evaluate what they’re doing within their own company about race and fix those issues first.
I’ve attached an article I read about that introduced me to the campaign and the reactions certain people had to it. I found it incredibly interesting and hope you do as well.
http://thoughtcatalog.com/lorenzo-jensen-iii/2015/03/black-coffee-in-white-neighborhoods-17-reactions-to-starbucks-racetogether-campaign/
Hey, thanks for the link. Very interesting! I have another article to share with you, but am having a problem locating it right now. Will post it here if I am able to find it.
Here you go. Check this out! http://thesocietypages.org/specials/can-we-race-together/
This is the first time I am reading about Starbucks campaign for race equality. I don’t think this campaign solves any issues. Racism exists everywhere and a little saying on the side of your coffee cup that gets thrown into a landfill anyway doesn’t help achieve anything. However I do think this is a smart campaign on the business side of things.. Bringing up a racial issues with a company as big as Starbucks causes controversy. This will cause their company to be a topic of discussion among friends, and ultimately end with you buying one of their many products.
The problem with Starbucks initiating the #racetogether campaign is for the fact that the CEO may be subliminally stating the types of people who go into Starbucks would be able to have this conversation. Stereotypically, Starbucks is known to be the “white person” coffee brand. Their coffee prices can range from $2-$5 for a tall (small) cup of coffee. So most people who depend on drinking coffee throughout their week and do not make a significant amount of money will not be doing business with Starbucks. As Kevin Jackson states in a tweet, Starbucks will not be found in a ghetto neighborhood. So the CEO made this mistake simply because the people who would be having this conversation are other white people who land in the middle class or rich class on the economic scale.
As a sociology and criminal justice major, conversations about race has become an intelligent conversation amongst other students who have a decently strong background on the social issue. However the people who go to the store solely for coffee may not have enough information on the issue. I believe the conversation would not end well if they were not an open-minded person to hear facts and statistics about the issue. They may have their minds set based on how they were raised or with the little knowledge they have about it.
The intention behind #RaceTogether is good: Yes, people are often afraid to address the topic of race or have an actual conversation about it. A lot of people like to pretend that racism is “over” and tiptoe around or ignore the issue of modern-day racism. However, I don’t think having a short, awkward conversation with some Starbucks employee you’ve never met is the way to open up the conversation. What does that accomplish? Personally I think this might make people even MORE uncomfortable to talk about race because the customer is being put on the spot. This campaign has already lead to a lot of criticism and parodies, so now people are making fun of talking about race rather than taking it seriously, so this defeats the purpose. A better and more effective campaign would probably have been one that encourages people to educate themselves on race issues, and discuss them with people they know or speak up about them. Also, who says that Starbucks employees are 100% non-racist and totally educated on the subject? The SNL parody shows this as well: The employees know a bit on the subject, but not a lot. Instead of “starting the conversation” which depending on the situation could accomplish nothing, I think Starbucks should have focused on educating people on the subject of race, and how unfortunately, racism is still very much a part of our society.
I believe that there will always be people who are uncomfortable when it comes to the issue of race. Race has always been and will always be a sensitive topic to discuss in the comfort of your own home, let alone with a complete stranger. People go to Starbucks to get their morning coffees, not to have a high thinking discussion about american social issues. Having a stranger ask another stranger about such a highly regarded topic is uncalled for in my opinion. Firstly there is the comfortability issue. One may feel uneasy about discussing race with their own mother in fears of angering her, but Starbucks expects someone to open up to a complete stranger? Secondly comes the issue of what happens if a customer does share their opinion that many would disagree with. Hearing a fellow customer or employee give an opinion on race that they dont agree with may cause Starbucks to lose out on customers who would rather sopend their money at another place where they feel comfortable, accepted, and are not hounded by uneasy questions.
Starbucks’ senior management team is trying to lead a national conversation about racial diversity when they don’t reflect the value of diversity in their own business practices. This may be because they are trying to change their reputation to being a company that cares about diversity, but didn’t consider the repercussions. Having only 16% of executives of color has possibly caused criticism of the company’s lack of diversity prior to “#racetogether”. Instead of changing Starbucks’ staff to become more diverse, it seems much cheaper to ask employees to discuss race with customers. Instead of transforming the company’s brand image in a positive way, Starbucks appears to be more hypocritical than anything.
Simply by the manner in which Starbucks approached this topic, it is obvious that they really do not care about racism. Their true issue is the lack of diversity in their consumer base. It is probable that the CEO thought that having a conversation about racism would bring in customers from diverse backgrounds. If they truly cared about racism they wouldn’t behave in the way that racist do. By this I referring to the fact that you never see a Starbucks in a predominately black area, or any other area that doesn’t have a predominately white population. The company is afraid of branching out and tarnishing their reputation resulting in the loss of some of their white consumers. This company does not have the right to say anything about race due to their own dated beliefs.
I believe Starbucks is launching this campaign because they want to raise more money by trying to attract customers of all colors. Maybe someone higher up in the company truly believes in the message, but because of the lack of diversity among the executive board, I am led to believe that the true cause for this campaign is all about money.
As a Starbucks employee, when I first herd of this campaign, I was like how does the company expect me to make an awkward conversation with strangers and not offend someone. As the employee, I’d probably hurt myself in the work place, or take time away from my job to converse about this. It takes me the average of a minute to two minutes to make a drink, how does this ensure a talk to someone on such a subject matter. I believe that the subject of race should be talked about in a moderated discussion with people who are certified to talk about it. There is a issue of consent, especially when Starbucks is not certified in the matter of this topic. People would feel uncomfortable talking about race, what would make it more comfortable to talk about it to a Starbucks employee. People in an everyday scenario don’t even want to talk about race and sometimes are careful when choosing their words so they do not offend someone. This is so unlike Starbucks because usually promotions take time and are surrounded by a less hefty subject. Most of the promotions are about seasonal products. Starbucks has not right to think of it as a charity case.
I do think people of all races would feel racially profiled when receiving the hashtag on their cup of coffee. The fact that the hashtag is only put on some people’s cups makes it more obvious that people are being singled out, no matter their race. Personally, I would feel awkward about the hashtag and probably ignore it. I would not want to engage in a conversation that people are still sensitive about in fear that somebody would take what I say the wrong way, especially since I am white. If I did have to engage in the conversation, I would feel inclined to be brutally honest about racial inequality like @JRehling rather than speak positively like Starbucks probably intended for people to do. If Starbucks truly wants to promote racial equality, they should place the hashtag on every customer’s cup to avoid singling people out and making them even more conscious about their race.
Upon reading this article, I have heard nothing of Starbucks’ “#RaceTogether”. (This is most likely because I am not affiliated with many forms of social media and also because I am constantly on this campus and not seeing much of the real world that goes on outside of this campus.) While reading, I paused for a moment to think how I would’ve felt if I was handed a cup that had the hashtag written on it. After learning that not all the cups had “#RaceTogether” written on it, I’m not sure how I would feel to be one of the few chosen to receive a cup with that statement on it. At first, I’d probably think that I was lucky to be chosen because “the barista must think that I can make a change!” But after thinking over it I would probably be offended to receive such a cup because then the barista “must’ve assumed I was racist”… I can only imagine what other people had thought upon receiving their cups that were written on. Starbucks really just dug themselves into a hole here. I can see that their intentions were good, but they just weren’t produced well.