Starbucks is reopening Wednesday after more than 8,000 of its stores shut down on Tuesday so its employees could undergo bias training.
The Starbucks in Butler Township closed at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday so it’s employees could participate in the training, which stemmed from an incident in Philadelphia in April in which two African American men were arrested when one asked to use the restroom at a Starbucks without making a purchase and refused to leave.
The incident sparked a national outcry over racial profiling.
Chad Dion Lassiter, Executive Director of the PA Human Relations Commission, commended Starbucks for what he considered a proactive approach.
“I think Starbucks did the right thing by bringing in national experts to deal with unconscious bias and implicit bias,” he said.
Lassiter added that other corporations can learn from the example put forth by Starbucks when comes to dealing with issues of race.
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