![\"20150402_113649\"](\"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/929\/2015\/08\/20150402_113649.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Starbucks Company thought it would be a good idea to get the millions of coffee drinkers coming to their business to discuss racism and racial relations. \u00a0The baristas (employees) were told to put the words #racetogether on the coffe cups in marker. \u00a0When a customer asked what it meant, the barista was supposed to speak with them about racism or other related topics.<\/p>\n
Many people felt violated by the conversation attempt. \u00a0One coffee drinker Kim Wilson stated, “I come to get my morning coffee not to debate about social issues!” \u00a0Another coffee drinker felt that the employees were not knowledgeable enough to handle themselves in this type of heated conversation. \u00a0April Kincaid brought up a good point also, ” If the employee started a conversation with a racist and it got out of hand, what are they going to do? \u00a0This type of confrontation could be bad for the business.”<\/p>\n
#Racetogether on Twitter was trending worldwide but for reasons Starbucks didn\u2019t want. Tweeters expressed how much they hated the idea of an employee talking about racial oppression and discrimination just to get a conversation going.<\/p>\n
After calling the official Starbucks company, I received no details on the subject. They reportedly said they couldn\u2019t give any insight on the campaign. After repeatedly giving me numbers to call and passing me on to different divisions, I finally landed upon customer service. They also came up with the conclusion that they couldn\u2019t comment on the encouragement of writing on the cups.<\/p>\n
I came up with the concept of calling many other Starbucks stores and asking them the same question, \u201cHas anything interesting happened due to the Race Together conflict at your store?\u201d I got answers varying from \u201cSorry, I don\u2019t have any time\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m not supposed to talk about it\u201d.<\/p>\n
Being patient and understanding is something that pulls you through a frustrating discovery. I finally got a hold of someone who was willing to give the time and effort to put some facts on the table. After asking my initial question, I had the pleasure of getting an answer of \u201cI work at a corporate Starbucks. No one really was bothered by the \u201cRace Together\u201d campaign. I wasn\u2019t bothered because we didn\u2019t really know what it was for.\u201d<\/p>\n
The employee also said, \u201cWe just wrote it and no one cared because they didn\u2019t really know what was happening.\u201d The employee didn\u2019t feel comfortable putting their name with their opinion but I secretly give them a congratulations for having heart\u00a0and stating a honest opinion.<\/p>\n
Everyone has their own opinions on how they run their companies. Whether it\u2019s free advertising or actual support, Starbucks tried an experiment that went astray. CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schulz discontinued the Race Together campaign after only a short time due to\u00a0heated criticism from social media and many news sources. It\u2019s up to society to see if the outcome was beneficial or not.<\/p>\n
Rawan Eid<\/p>\n
Unis Middle School Journalism<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After just a short amount of time, Starbucks discontinued their plan of adding \u201cRace Together\u201d on their cups. People all over the world, especially on social media, have criticized the company\u2019s intention for\u00a0the campaign. The Starbucks Company thought it would be a good idea to get the millions of coffee drinkers coming to their business …<\/p>\n