Starbucks will close its 8,000 or so company-owned locations in the US to that it can provide racial bias training to 175,000 employees.

This is because of the uproar over the arrest of two black men who were waiting for a business associate at a Philadelphia Starbucks last week.  The store manager called the police, who arrested the men for loitering even though their friend did arrive.  The drama was a wake-up call to the white clientel who weren't accustomed to actually seeing how cops treat black people in the US; they took videos which raced across social media and created an internationally-embarrassing situation for the big coffee chain.

Starbucks took great pains to get in front of this issue.  CEO Kevin Johnson met with the two men on Monday and apologized for how they were treated.  In a joint statement, the men's lawyer and Starbucks said their discussions had been "constructive".  He also said the store manager is no longer with the company.  No charges were filed against the men; but as usual, the cops wouldn't admit their fault.

On the afternoon of Tuesday 29 May, Starbucks will close all company-owned branches and corporate offices for the training, which will be designed in part by Obama-era US Attorney General Eric Holder, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Anti-Defamation League, the Equal Justice Initiative, and Demos, a progressive think tank. 

"Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities," said Mr Johnson.  "While this is not limited to Starbucks, we're committed to being a part of the solution."

yees about racial bias.

uproar over the arrest of two black men who were waiting for a friend at a Philadelphia Starbucks last week. The store manager called the police.