Yesterday I wrote a half-serious little blog (subject matter intended as serious, presentation intended as humorous) regarding Starbucks’ latest initiative: to have their “baristas” (that hyperinflated title belongs to the person behind the counter who makes the coffee, hot chocolate, etc.) engage customers in discussions about race.
Personally, all I want from anyone behind a Starbucks counter is what I am buying and the correct change. If I want social commentary I’ll seek it out elsewhere – on my terms, not as the captive audience of a “barista”.
In any event, I just read an article by Joe Berkowitz at a web site called fastcocreate.com (which I never heard of until now), in which he relates what happened when he went into several Starbucks locations to buy coffee and asked about having a discussion on race. You can read his experiences by clicking here: I don’t think they will surprise you.
But, entertaining though Mr. Berkowitz’s account was, the most interesting thing I read at that site was this comment, from someone using the screen name “Tommy”:
Typical Liberal (Howard Schultz) “Do as I say, not as I do!” Did you know there are 21,366 Starbucks worldwide and NOT ONE in Ferguson or Selma. There is NOT ONE store located in Gary, IN, Benton Harbor, MI, Highland Park, MI, nor East St. Louis, IL. Who really is the “racist” and why NO stores in these communities, Howard? Next time you’re in Starbucks, please ask your barista…”Why not?” And then ask, how many employees? How many women and blacks in management? Do they receive equal pay? Oh, Yeah Baby….Let’s talk about “Race” at Starbucks.
It seems to me that “Tommy” is making one helluva good point – that Starbucks is less likely to put its units in areas with large Black populations – if, and only if, his facts are accurate.
So I checked in Selma (27% Black – double the national average, and an iconic civil rights city) in Ferguson (67% Black), In Gary, Indiana (85% Black) and in East St. Louis IL (98% Black). And it turns out that “Tommy” is absolutely correct. Not one Starbucks in any of them. Zip. Nil. Nada.
My suggestion to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is that he scrap this “barista” BS, and have a few discussions of race relations with the the people of these cities, who have to travel out of town if they want the products he is selling.
What a colossal hypocrite this man is.
