The Apology Letter Howard Schultz And Starbucks Should Write For The ‘Race Together’ Initiative

Some thoughts from columnist Renwei Chung on the controversial "Race Together" initiative from Starbucks.

“I am a reflection of the community. I am not saying I am going to rule the world or that I am going to change the world. But I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” — Tupac

Recently, we co-launched an initiative with USA Today called “Race Together.” To say the least, this initiative created quite a stir in the social media sphere. We would like to issue a formal apology on behalf of our CEO, company, and partners. Many of these words have already been stated in an internal memo, but we would like to better communicate our goals to you as we hope to learn from your perspectives as well.

Dear Public,

Since December, we have been hosting Partner Open Forums to discuss issues of race, prejudice, and lack of economic opportunity. Time and time again at these forums, the singular question was asked, “what more can we do?” We believe the ultimate answer lies in a better understanding of our community.

We believe Starbucks could have the greatest impact on our communities by creating more empathy, compassion and understanding in our society. On March 16, we invited partners to write “Race Together” or “Together” on cups for three reasons:

  • We want to foster empathy and common understanding in the country.
  • Our company feels responsible to do our part as the country faces ongoing racial tension.
  • We hope to promote awareness and understanding through our efforts with USA Today and with our fellow partners and customers who want to dialogue and share information on this important issue for the country.

First, we apologize to those who believe we thought we could alleviate systemic racism over a Frappucino. Believe it or not, we didn’t believe we could wipe out thousands of years of racism with a simple slogan on a cup of coffee and inserts in a newspaper. We also don’t believe we can instantly reverse global warming, but it doesn’t prevent us from caring about the environment.

We know the conversations are sometimes going to be uneasy, clunky, and awkward. We are in the service industry; we know the consequences of inconvenient, irritable, and sensitive human interactions. Despite this, we still believe it is worth promoting awareness and understanding in everyday discussion. We agree with Eric Liu: people spend far too much time thinking about rights and not enough about responsibilities. We launched “Race Together” because we feel responsible to do our part as the country faces ongoing racial tension.

Second, we apologize to the racial-justice activists who believe they own the right or license to talk about racism, oppression, and marginalization. Some may live and breathe it, others do not. This does not make your ad hominem attacks any more valid. We are sorry that you believe our baristas lack the required life experience, training, or pedigree to have conversations about racial tensions. We apologize if you believe we are ill-equipped or lack the prerequisites to promote awareness and understanding.

Third, we apologize to those who believe a corporation’s only goal is to maximize shareholder economic value. The 1980s called, they miss you. Even that free market purist, Nobel Laureate Milton Freedman, believed in a negative income tax (universal basic income). We both believe in social responsibility, even if we disagree on the methodology of it. The mantra of “doing well by doing good” isn’t fundamentally opposed to capitalism. As F. Scott Fitzgerald famously declared, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

Fourth, we apologize to the cynics who think we launched this initiative as a profit-driven campaign. Show us the data set that indicates this initiative gives us the best return on our capital and we will give you free coffee for a year. We are sorry that you believe we are disqualified or somehow barred from conversations about racial tensions, protests, and violence because our store locations have been linked to gentrification and higher home prices. We also apologize to the critics who believe we should pay a higher minimum wage and lower our menu prices. We apologize that we made racial tension issues our priority instead of what you consider to be our shortcomings.

Fifth, we apologize if our baristas writing #RaceTogether or #tobeapartner ruined your day. Despite what many in the media have reported, we didn’t end this phase of the program because of your criticism. The rollout for this initiative was originally scheduled for March 16–22, nothing changed. Despite the media backlash, we are just getting started on “Race Together.” This initiative is far from over. We’re sorry if this doesn’t fit the mainstream media’s narrative. Again, it is our goal to spark the conversation about racial tensions, because we believe this is the first step in a complicated issue.

We know leading change isn’t an easy thing to accomplish, nor did we expect for this type of change to be easy to address. We began “Race Together” because we could no longer ignore racial tensions in our neighborhoods and communities. We hope other Fortune 500 companies and Biglaw firms take up this type of initiative as well. If “Race Together” continues to inconvenience you, then we invite you to visit other coffee shops that enjoy the status quo.

Finally, we consider Starbucks to be more than just a cup of coffee. We hope Starbucks is a genuine experience. From this point on, we strive for your experience with Starbucks to include empathy, compassion, and understanding. “Race Together” is just getting started, and we hope you will join us in this much needed national dialogue on racial tensions. The truth is, we’re sorry we didn’t start this discussion sooner.

With great respect,

Howard Schultz
Starbucks CEO

(Part 1 of a Series: Starbucks’ Hunt For The White Whale Of Racial Harmony)


Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn

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