Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/06/01/heres-the-starbucks-racial-b.html
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Actually not cringe-worthy. I’m sort of impressed.
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I guess it beats the film they chose before that one called “So that white girl just ordered coffee with her asian boyfriend…”
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My first thought is… wow 8 mins? Did they talk for the other 2 hours and 52 mins?
Second thought, wow that’s a really well made video.
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I’m guessing there was a lot of open discussion during the meetings. I would hope that people had things to say.
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It’s kind of amazing that they could break down that much information into such a small video. It had a Ken Burns kind of feel to it.
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On the rare occasions I’ve heard someone use the word “mulatto” I have had to remind myself it’s an offensive term for a mixed-race person and not some kind of Starbucks beverage.
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Kind of reminds me of the TIME article where they had: “Dead Italian Artist or Poet or name of coffee? because ordering a dead renaissance artist is embarrassing”,https://wronghands1.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/renaissance-artist-or-coffee1.jpg?w=500&h=400
It’s harder than it looks.
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I live in a strange part of America where the closest Starbucks is almost an hour away, but I’ll be making it a point to give them some business when I’m in the vicinity.
AFAIK, they’re a fairly respectable corporate citizen that pays employees well, doesn’t screw their suppliers over too hard, and they make moves like this.
This half day was not cheap for them, and a video like this combined with good conversation guides can legitimately start changing minds.
Also, Veranda Blend is great.
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I didn’t enjoy that, it was uncomfortable. Good job Mr. Nelson.
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Good film.
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True. A young relative of mine, during a rocky period of young adulthood, got a job at Starbucks and it was great for him. I don’t prefer their coffee (my workplace “proudly serves”…), but I have no problem going there.
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This film needs a wider distribution. Hits home.
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They cried.
I actually had a friend in college that referred to himself as “mulatto”, which shocked me every time. Because I thought it was at least archaic if not outright offensive.
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mmmmm affogato
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“Proudly underwritten by Starbucks” (in hopes of salvaging value for our brand…)
Call me a cynic, and that was a good video, but I’d love to have this be part of the original training, not a response to “Ohmigod, a manager did what? We’re going to owe those black guys millions! Wait what? They’re willing to settle for an apology and a promise of thorough training? We’d better make it good, everyone’s going to be watching.”.
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The part where he and others described measures they take in public spaces…space between them and others, eye contact, ‘perfect and clean’…brought tears. I never imagined this level of thought existed as a second nature to just living each day. How color brave was seen as good choice of words is beyond me, implying color is a fear to overcome? How many minorities work for Starbucks and mgmt saw fit to use this term?
Video was great in content. Tbh, if not white, and watched this with coworkers as they did…unease would have been felt as well.
Agree with others who commented about hopes for deeper discussions took place and focusing on clear policies.
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Asian is a color?
I get the cynicism, but this is part of a much bigger, broader awakening in our culture right now. Starbucks didn’t offer implicit bias training in the past, because almost nobody offered implicit bias training.
The biases and unconscious racism that many people display every day simply wasn’t recognized by the dominant culture for the last fifty-odd years. You can’t blame one coffee corporation for that.
The difference is that now we’re becoming more and more aware of these issues — and more and more able to record and publicize them when they happen. I applaud any organization that is waking up to this problem and trying to deal with it constructively.
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