Cultural Influence

"Starbucks represents something beyond a cup of coffee." — Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO

Last week Starbucks began — and quickly ended — a new initiative. The brainchild of CEO Howard Schultz, the company planned to write "Race Together" on its cups and ask its workers to start a conversation about race with customers.

Here's what Schultz said in launching the program, “This is not some marketing or PR exercise. This is to do one thing: use our national footprint and scale for good.” Given some of his past comments, you have to believe Schultz means that. He also admitted in a video launching the program that many, even on his own staff, warned him against doing it.

The program ended almost as quickly as it began, mostly due to incredible criticism. Lost in that is the irony that, though not in the way intended, Schultz did start a conversation about race in America, or at least about the way we talk about race.

At First Pres, we have a program called God Questions. In writing about why we invite people to talk about God — another often taboo topic in polite society — at a coffee shop, a member of the team talked about the idea that, historically, the coffee shop has been a place to have those hard, deep discussions. Maybe that's an idea that was close to Schultz, too.

Now when I first heard about this, it seemed like a bad idea. But moreso for the execution than the idea itself. No one should be forced to talk about race, and it's hard to imagine wanting to have a deep conversation about a sensitive topic with a total stranger serving you coffee. Or imagine being said stranger forced to start an uncomfortable conversation about race with your customers.

But at the same time, we're fooling ourselves if we think discussion on race aren't already a big part of our society. Think about Ferguson. Think about the chatter over "Selma" and the Academy Awards nominations. Think about "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore," and the way it's offering a new voice. Think about this TV season, and the misguided article released by Deadline on diversity on TV. Race, and racism, aren't gone. As Kanye West once opined, "racism still alive, they just be concealing it."

So back to Starbucks. Is it a good idea to have baristas start a sensitive conversation on race with customers while serving lattes? Probably not. But is it bold of Schultz to use his position to want to have bigger societal conversations? Probably. His idea may not have worked like he thought, but it's impossible to deny he started the conversation.