In an e-mail, Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks, said: “For several hours this afternoon, Starbucks will close stores and offices to discuss how to make Starbucks a place where all people feel welcome.”

Last month, two black men (Donte Robinson, 23, and Rashon Nelson, 23) were arrested in a Starbucks in Philadelphia for refusing to leave the store after being denied access to the restroom. The men had not purchased anything; they were waiting for a friend when they asked permission to use the facilities. They were denied and were then asked to leave the store.

According to an article by NPR, the men refused to leave the Starbucks location, which resulted in a phone call to the police.

Racial bias training for Starbucks employees

Because of the incident last month, more than 8,000 stores are closing their doors early on May 29 in order to give over 100,000 employees a racial bias training. Per NPR, some of Starbucks’ stores have posted notices stating they will be closing early on Tuesday afternoon and not reopening until Wednesday, May 30.

Also, in response to the arrest, former Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, stated that the company had implemented a new restroom policy.

According to NPR, he said, “We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100 percent of the time and give people the key.”

Musician Common to be featured in Starbucks training videos

Several people helped create the framework for the new Starbucks training, including Bryan Stevenson (executive director and founder of Equal Justice Initiative) and Sherrilyn Ifill (president of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund).

In reaction to a video of the arrest that took place last month, Ifill said: “It's part of a very, very long story about African-Americans and public accommodations and how we are treated in public spaces.”

The exercise will include a “Team Guidebook” that follows along with a series of training videos. Hip-hop artist Common is presented in one of the videos discussing how to make people feel welcome, which is something he considers a skill.

The sequence will also include a video by Stanley Nelson, who directed the documentary "Freedom Riders."

So far, the training will only affect the Starbucks-operated, standalone stores. The Starbucks-licensed stores, which are commonly found in grocery stores, hotels, and airports, will not be involved in the training yet. Starbucks has stated that it will share the new training with its licensed business locations at a later date.
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