How many of us remember something called RACE TOGETHER? It was the brainchild of Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz. It lasted about as long as Schultz’s recent run for the President of the U.S.
About five years ago, Schultz hastily put together RACE TOGETHER, an “initiative from Starbucks and USA TODAY to stimulate conversation, compassion, and action around race in America.” He added, “Elevating diversity is the right thing to do, but it is also a necessity…For all our country’s progress, barriers to social justice and economic equality exist in far too many corners.” At that time, the killings of African American men such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner were fueling civil unrest and a national dialogue about police brutality.
I still have the insert that came with my copy of USA Today. Each page of the insert was devoted to the following questions: Why RACE TOGETHER? What is the chance that the next person I meet will be different from me? When did you first become aware of race? What do you think you know about race? Where do you stand? Lastly, there are some conversations starters, such as “I have ____ friends of a different race.”
This initiative encouraged Starbucks baristas to write “Race Together” on coffee cups as they talked with customers about race, racism, protests, and police killings. Specifically, Schultz instructed baristas, “If a customer asks you what this is [RACE TOGETHER wording on coffee cup] try to engage in a discussion that we have problems in this country in regard to race.”
As a white male who has talked extensively about race and racism both as a student at a Historically Black College (Howard University) and as a professor at a Historically Black Community College (Baltimore City CC), I’ve learned a few things. One, opening up and having a deep honest dialogue about this subject takes time, trust, and a supportive environment. Baristas and their customers had the benefit of none of these. Hence, it was no big surprise that the coffee cup campaign ended almost as soon as it began.
However well-intentioned, critics pointed to the fact that Schultz’s leadership team was predominantly White while baristas were predominantly people of color. Schultz, who once told 60 Minutes Starbucks wasn’t “in the business of filling people’s bellies” but rather “filling people’s souls” more or less defended the initiative by saying, “Conversations [about racial inequality] are being ignored because people are afraid to discuss this issue.”
My experiences in higher education taught me different. College students aren’t afraid to discuss these issues. Is it easy? Not at all. Does it require a certain venue, ample time, and a teacher with the experience, knowledge, skill, and commitment to see this through? Absolutely! But it can be done.
Five years ago, RACE TOGETHER was dead on arrival in spite of the backing of a billionaire, international corporations, lots of money, people with connections, and a whole lot of publicity. Today, as corporations and other organizations begin the extremely hard work of following through on their statements and promises about the future and the critical need for dialogues leading to action to tackle racial inequality, it’s critical we learn from past mistakes. We’ve got too much at stake.
Links to more from Dr. Bucher:
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