WAKE UP, WHITE PEOPLE
STARBUCKS BUST A BIAS
TWO BLACK men who contend they were racially profiled before being arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks said Thursday they were only there for two minutes before a manager called the cops.
Rashon Nelson said he was confused when three police officers began talking to him and longtime friend Donte Robinson inside the coffee house over the weekend.
“Well, initially, as soon as they approached us, they just said we have to leave,” Nelson told ABC News’ “Good Morning America.” “There was no question of, ‘Was there a problem here between you guys and a manager, what happened?’ ”
Cell phone video of the two men getting arrested went viral, sparking protests and a swift response from the Seattle-based java giant.
The men, both 23, said they feared for their lives during the arrest. They were not charged with a crime.
Nelson and Robinson arrived about 10 minutes early for a meeting with local businessman Andrew Yaffe to chat about an ongoing real estate deal.
Nelson recalled asking the manager to use the bathroom after he and Robinson arrived at the Starbucks. He said she told him no because he hadn’t ordered anything.
Nelson sat down at a table with Robinson — his friend since the fourth grade — and waited for Yaffe, who is white.
That’s when the manager came over and asked if they were ordering anything, they said, and phoned the cops when the pair told her they were waiting to meet someone.
“We were there for a real reason, a real deal that we were working on,” Robinson told The Associated Press. “We were at a moment that could have a positive impact on a whole ladder of people, lives, families. So I was like, ‘No, you’re not stopping that right now.’ ”
Yaffe, the man with whom they were supposed to sit down, arrived as cops were arresting the men.
Robinson said they were never read their rights or initially told why they were being arrested.
Nelson added that he wasn’t sure if he’d make it out of the situation in one piece.
“Anytime I’m encountered by cops, I can honestly say it’s a thought that runs through my mind,” Nelson said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
But Robinson and Nelson stayed calm, believing any kind of protest would be fruitless.
“When you know that you did nothing wrong, how do you really react to it?” he told the AP. “You can either be ignorant or you can show some type of sophistication and act like you have class. That was the choice we had.”
Robinson called Yaffe to set up another meeting once they were released after midnight, when he told them their arrest was making its rounds on the internet.
The arrest prompted nationwide outrage, and Starbucks has promised a full review.
Cell phone video of the arrest went viral, sparking a two-day protest at the downtown coffee shop and prompting its temporary closure.
The fallout also drew an apology from Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who initially backed the arresting officers and said they’d done “nothing wrong.”
“I failed miserably,” Ross said during a press conference. “I exacerbated the situation with my messaging; it’s as simple as that.”
The company plans to shut down 8,000 U.S. stores for one day in late May so staff can learn about racial bias.