To Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz: Don’t let the haters ruin your caffeine buzz.
Schultz and his company are taking all sorts of flak for Race Together, an initiative to initiate conversations about race relations … including when customers drop in at Starbucks stores to buy coffee.
The press panned the idea, and critics on social media have savaged it. The prevailing attitudes are snark and dudgeon. How dare a purveyor of pricey beverages presume to address such a serious issue in such an unserious setting!
Sorry, but I disagree. Schultz isn’t daft in thinking that Starbucks could inspire some valuable introspection around the dicey issue of race.
Unfortunately, Starbucks had created the impression that the main thrust of Race Together would be via your friendly neighborhood barista, who would scrawl Race Together on your latte cup. (The cup-writing portion of the campaign ended Sunday.)
The absurdity of that scenario was captured by this tweet from PBS journalist Gwen Ifill: “Honest to God, if you start to engage me in a race conversation before I’ve had my morning coffee, it will not end well.”
Starbucks lost control of its message, and paid the price. One vice president briefly deleted his Twitter account as the nastiness got out of control. Critics pointed out the lack of diversity within Starbucks corporate offices and that its lowest-paid employees are generally the minorities serving upper-middle-class customers.
The hurdle the company failed to clear was telling people what it has already accomplished within its own ranks. That backstory needs to be out there.
The race initiative began in December. Schultz, dismayed at the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., that was spreading to other cities, called an impromptu meeting at headquarters in Seattle. Employees were given the floor to share stories about race.
Next, the company took the idea on the road. The talk sessions were held in five cities, New York, St. Louis, Oakland, Los Angeles and Chicago.
But that’s not all.
As one of the most overlooked portions of the campaign, Starbucks' board member Mellody Hobson, an African-American who is also president of Ariel Investments and chairwoman of Dreamworks Animation, posted an essay on the company website. Read it. In 2,300 words she deftly covers a large amount of sensitive territory.
Give Schultz credit. He understands one truth deeply: The Starbucks brand has massive clout.
Imagine if other major corporations took to holding companywide talk sessions around race. A lot of America could be reached. Ask that lone African-American/Latino/Asian on the masthead to really open up, to share a few experiences. Encourage them to share the feelings they reserve about race because they’re painful, or out of the fear that some might not be able to relate.
That reticence is natural, even appropriate — but only up to a point. If talking about race is uncomfortable, let’s get uncomfortable. And let’s give Schultz and company a break. Few other corporations are willing to wield terms like social justice and economic equality in a major campaign. At least Starbucks is making an honest attempt.
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