Starbuck's short lived campaign to dialogue about race in America produced mixed reactions.
Transcript
[Darris McNeely] Did you happen to get one of these cups of coffee at Starbucks last week when you went in for your favorite brew, as they were going through a promotional idea, #RaceTogether? An effort by Starbucks, initiated by its CEO to start a dialogue on race in America. They cancelled it after one week, and of course, the cancellation caused as much comment as the actual event itself, that went on for several days, as people from all walks of life commented about the effort to establish a dialogue on racial discrimination and racial problems in the United States, in Starbucks. The idea was that the barista would write this #RaceTogether on their coffee cup and then engage you, the customer, in a discussion about a very sensitive issue that could really erupt – who knows where that would go, because of the barista not being trained, perhaps, in how to discuss this with people, and just your frame of mind on an early Sunday morning, all you want your cup of coffee, not really to get into a discussion about that.
One famous American, Karima Abdul Jabar himself, said he was in shock and awe at the effort by Starbucks to do this – in shock that they would think that it might work, but in awe that they would try it, to do something to correct what indeed is a social problem in the United States and other parts of the world, and still, so many years after so much progress has been made, does elicit some very strong feelings.
And so, this particular program has gone; there’ll be others. And unfortunately, there’ll probably be other eruptions of racial discrimination, racial violence, and tension in our world to remind us that relations between mankind at all levels, of all races, creeds, or ethnicities, are not exactly what they should be.
I think for each one of us, we need to just stop and analyze what’s in our heart and think about this in our background, in our thoughts, in our actions – to make sure that before God and before our fellow man, there is no racial discrimination, there are no thoughts of evil in any way, or thinking of matters of inequality. For a Christian, for a son of God, those ideas, those thoughts should find no place in one’s heart.
In Romans 14:19, the apostle Paul makes a statement about this, as he’s talking about relationships between people on a spiritual basis, and he says, “Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace, and the things by which one may edify another.” Strive for peace in your words, in your relationships, and in your heart. Strive for that peace with God and strive for that with your fellow man. If that’s the case, and if that works, then we can have the help to deal with discrimination and get along together at a better level than what we may have done in the past.
