Two Black men
were arrested in Starbucks because they sat down without ordering. They were doing what many do at Starbucks, waiting
for a friend to show up and proceed with their meeting. Honestly, many people go to Starbucks because
they want to use their WiFi, not because they have a taste for coffee.
I must admit that I have had the taste for
Starbucks coffee for many years. And I
always remember Ally McBeal when I take my first sip because, like Ally McBeal,
I never take my first sip until I am in a position to totally close my eyes and
enjoy the first sip. “Ahhh!!! That’s
what I needed.” Then I move forward with my day. *smile* Some never place an order. They sit with their laptop and smart phone
and camp out for hours. To my knowledge,
no one has ever been arrested for loitering, taking up space and not ordering a
beverage or any of the other offerings for purchase, at Starbucks.
Unbeknownst
to the Black gentlemen in Starbucks, the Manager at Starbucks called the police
to say that these men were loitering, occupying seats without ordering. The police officers did what police officers
do to Black men, arrested them. These
two men spent 8 hours at the police station (lock-up) before they were
released. The Police Department said
that the men were released because Starbucks said they would not press charges.
Starbucks
has now decided to close more than 8,000 US Company-owned stores on May 29th
for racial-bias training. Why do non-Black
people need racial-bias training? Isn’t politeness
natural? Isn’t fairness natural? Why do they need to be trained on how to
treat a fellow human being? The racial-bias training is a total mockery. It’s a
“hush” move to make Black people feel appeased, like they are doing something
to fix a problem that should not exist.
The
mental anguish that Black men face every single day in this life is what needs
to be addressed. KevOnStage
video has gone viral on Facebook.
Kev mentions that this type of action by staff members happens in many
establishments everywhere and he has personally experienced these types of
incidents, though he was lucky enough not to get arrested. Please
take time to watch his video . He
asked, do we boycott Starbucks, the police….? Racial profiling happens
everywhere, every day and Black men are the ones who must accept this type of
mental anguish daily.
Two
men on Facebook summed up their feelings after watching KevOnStage’s video. With their permission, I am reprinting their comments:
Darren Starks said: Sometimes it feels like a curse being black in
this world. I wish it didn’t, but this crap makes you weary.
William H. Rochester Jr. answered: I agree with you Darren and
you are right. This stuff does make you weary. I was talking with a good friend
of mine about how we as Black men are constantly fighting for respect every
minute of the day everywhere we go. We can walk into an establishment, even be
dressed in a three-piece suit, and be looked upon with disdain and get treated
like you are not worthy of their respect. This has always been the case for
Black men and I’ve noticed this behavior has been increasing and has become
more blatant in this Trump era. This is the general attitude amongst those that
are non-Black, and I mean EVERYONE who is non-Black. And this is not a once in
a while thing. This is DAILY. But I’ve come to realize is that we are God’s
Chosen People who are His special possession. We are made in His image and His
Likeness. And that is why the world hates us so much. One may ask, “Well how do
you come to that conclusion?” No one was hated on this Earth more than Christ.
Christ was in this world, but was not of this world, so they hated Him for that
reason and chose to successfully crucify and murder Him. And He was God in
flesh. Now anything that is of God is going to be hated upon and trampled on by
this world. There is no other group of people who are hated and despised as
much as Black people. Now what did Christ look like? Rev 1:14-15 describes The
Son of Man as someone who is Black, not Brown, not Red, not Yellow, and
definitely not White. When others see us they see the image of God looking
right at them and they naturally hate it. God says that people will hate you on
the account of Him. So I understand that it feels like a curse, but in
actuality we are blessed beyond measure.
Don’t
those words make you sad? Brought me to tears. If they do not, then you should check your pulse. Our beautiful Black men are feeling helpless
in this racist America. The pain is not
necessarily visible. But it’s palpable. It’s
like PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In this case, there doesn’t seem to be a cure for that.
How
many of us can get up every morning, make a mental note of what task you must
complete in the day. Each task must
accompany a mental note to be careful.
Look in both directions, no, all directions, once you step outside your
home. If you must go to a store, be
prepared to be followed throughout the store as you pick up what you need.
If
you’re wearing a garment purchased at said store, go directly to the security
desk and show them the receipt so that they know that you purchased the garment
and did not put it on while shopping.
If
you go to Starbucks, be sure to walk directly to the window and make a purchase,
especially if you need to use the restroom.
Always be extremely polite, even if the person behind the counter is as mean
as a passion fruit. (Passion
Fruit definition: The taste is fruity and
very tart, and there's a very large smell component - it has a very strong and
characteristic perfume.) Yuck!
That cell phone in your hand, figure out how
not to have it be confused for a gun.
Yep – I don’t know how you can do that but you better figure it out because
some white person will call the police and tell them that you’re waving a gun
when in fact you raised your arm carrying the phone to answer the ring.
Does
all this sound insanely stupid? Yes, it
does. But they are all true stories of
incidents that has happened to a Black man who was going about his day trying
to get his business done or just doing leisurely things as so many Americans do
daily.
Some
people are boycotting Starbucks and that’s not a bad idea. Boycotting will cause them to act. Starbucks CEO posted an apology on Twitter
on April 14, 2018 @ 9:59 AM. It says:
I
can break down these words sentence by sentence and the result is an empty barrel. But that’s not necessary, at this time. Without this egregious incident coming to the
attention of people and the boycott of Starbucks that ensued, I don’t think Starbucks
would have apologized. Which caused me
to think, how often does incidents such as this occur every single day to an
innocent Black person. There is also
another video of a racist incident that came to my attention during this now
infamous Starbucks bruhaha. (Well maybe more serious than a bruhaha!) This other incident happened in California. Another
discrimination of a Black man trying to use the restroom before making a purchase
when a white man was able to easily ask for a key to the men’s room without
being asked to make a purchase first.
These
not so isolated incidents are happening more often (or perhaps it’s now more
visible because of cell phone video cameras). Boycotting works, helps in some cases. But what happens after the apology from the
CEO? Boycotting only goes so far.
How about boycotting all white establishments? It doesn’t have to be something that everyone participates in. It does not have to be a “We.” It all starts
with “I”. The employees and perhaps some
in management at Starbucks are certainly racist. This manager was one of them (she no longer
works at that store). A few commenters
said that they will now go to Coffee Bean. Some
employees and managers at Coffee Bean are certainly racist. They just have not been exposed yet. Then what?
Some employees and management staff at most white owned businesses are racist and everywhere else that you patronize on a daily basis, have
racist people. That cell phone that
you’re using, which ever company you’re patronizing have racist employees and
management staff. Racism in America is
difficult to escape. And in the trump-era, it has gotten more open and visible and acceptable.
This ugly problem needs a country-wide
boycotting if it is to work. Raise your hand if you want to be included in that
task and start with “I”.
I
am not boycotting Starbucks. Some people
say that it shows blatant disrespect for my people. I’m not condoning
what happened at Starbucks. I am just as angry as anyone about the incident. I am more concerned about the way Black men,
especially, feel about being harassed everywhere they go, every single day of
their life and it breaks my heart in two. This is not a Starbucks problem. This
is an American White People problem that Black America is trying to live with
and figure out and maybe find an answer for a fix. We cannot fight each other
for our opinions, instead we must work together to hopefully eradicate racism.
©2018
Radiance Smith (aka Radiance Lite)
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