“In the past year, I have been to the home of someone of a different race ____ times.”
This could be the beginning of your conversation with a Starbucks barista, according to a www.Fortune.com article about the company’s new “Race Together” campaign. The campaign invites baristas in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Oakland and Los Angeles to write “Race Together” on cups and initiate discussions about race relations in America. USA Today and Starbucks are releasing conversation starters such as the first fill-in-the-blank option to help start these.
According to www.news.starbucks.com, the project stems from a series of forums on race in the highlighted cities initiated by Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz. He said, “we at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America.”
I have to disagree.
We’ve all heard that subjects such as religion and politics don’t generally make for good dinner conversations due to their controversial nature. There’s no need to start a debate over a meal.
I think the same rules apply to a cup of coffee — especially when the discussion is with a total stranger.
First off, what in the world does a person’s number of visits to the home of someone of a different race have to do with anything about race relations in America? And who keeps track of that in the first place?
I feel like a question of that nature is not moving forward at all — instead it’s asking us to count our friends of different ethnicities as if there is a certain quota that needs to be met. Instead, wouldn’t it be healthier and more progressive to just not even consider the race of the peoples’ houses who you visit and simply be a friend?
New York Daily News journalist S.E. Cupp took a humorous approach to the campaign in an article called “Starbucks’ #RaceTogether experiment: A one-act play.” In the piece, she imagines a conversation between herself and a barista where she orders her drink and the barista proceeds to ask questions about Ferguson and race relations in America. You should read the entire article if you want a good laugh.
My favorite “quote” from the barista is this: “…here at Starbucks, we don’t just sell coffee and pretentious accessories, like the stainless steel Siren’s Poem tumbler. As you probably know, we also insist on foisting the politics of our CEO onto our customers and our shareholders. So, you come in for a latte, you leave with a new perspective on gay marriage! Or get your macchiato with a ‘shot’ of gun control! Pun intended, thank you very much. So now we’ve been encouraged to engage our customers on the issue of race in America.”
However extreme that may sound, it makes a valid point: how can Starbucks possibly be sure that every employee who brings up the “Race Together” campaign shares the view that they as a company want to promote?
People don’t go to Starbucks to solve political issues. They go to get a drink and leave.
I’m not in any way opposed to the idea that race relations in America need improvement. But I know that I have no interest in discussing them with my barista.
