Starbucks Should Have a Discussion on Race With Itself

In 2009, a Pew Research poll simply asked "Would you prefer to live in a place with more Starbucks or more McDonald's".   Only one in four blacks said they would prefer Starbucks while 56% favored McDonald's.  Basically, that Pew poll found that those who preferred Starbucks were generally non-black liberals who are mostly female, are between 18 and 29 years of age and, make in excess of $75,000 a year.  Not hardly the type of people who have a lot of experience mingling with the black community.

Yet, the Chairman and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, believes that, in the wake of Ferguson, his baristas should initiate discussions about race with its customers.   This is interesting since there isn't a single Starbucks in the town of Ferguson.  Nor, is there one in Selma, Alabama or many other majority black communities throughout the United States. 

Perhaps Starbucks should just have a talk amongst themselves about better serving all the communities in America before they start an elitist movement to encourage race discussions with their predominately liberal and non-black customers.   Especially when you consider that those baristas  are from predominately white neighborhoods near the Starbucks that they are working at.


References:

Post-Ferguson, Starbucks initiates public conversations on race: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/lewis-diuguid/article15247904.html

Pew Research: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2009/02/10/mcdonalds-and-starbucks-43-yin-35-yang/

 Why Is There No Starbucks Coffee House in Selma?: http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/jen-kuznicki/why-there-no-starbucks-coffee-house-selma