#RaceTogether

Added • Updated about a year ago

Added by Brad • Updated about a year ago by Don

Category: Meme Status: Submission Year: 2015 Origin: Twitter Region:

Type: Advertisement,

Tags: starbucks, marketing, race, racial relations, public relations, coffee, controversy,

Top Gallery Images

hecran servat So, I went to my local Starbucks to indulge in a rare delicacy for me-A venti caramel carob macchiato with quinoa and all-organic, fair-trade espress0 Upon ordering, and pulling out my debit card to settle my bill of $278.96 (their recently, yay!), the young proletariat behind the till politely asked, "Would you like to have a conversation about race today? I was startled. Surely, this, a simple coffeehaus, was not so intellectually inclined? But, out of curiosity and a genuine interest, I said, "Sure! The young lady gave me a toothy grin, anticipating my topic of choice. For a moment, I froze, but then offered a subject I had been reading on recently "Have you any opinions.." I began quietly, "on the recent Islamic siege against the Yazidi people in the middle east? They're being enslaved and slaughtered in massive nu"stopped when the look in the young woman's eyes changed to reflect sheer, unadulterated emptiness. The smile was still there but had softened "Forget that." I started again, and the smile perked back up. "Maybe you've heard of the current Saudi Arabian tragedies, in which Indians are being imported for manual labor with the promise of food and money, but are being terribly treated, barely paid anything, and dumped over the Indian border if they fall ill or wea" Once again I halted I realized, in horror, that the cashier was giving me a look of concern as if everything that had come out of my mouth was hardly in English, let alone understandable. The smile was gone, her brows were furrowed, and I quickly realized that the other baristas were staring as if I had experienced a stroke right before them "Ahh... Uhmm." I felt quite awkward now. And the line forming behind me was making me sweat a bit in nervousness. "The... The Chinese Colonization Of Africa?" Somewhere behind me, a woman began softly sobbing. That was when l realized the entire café was staring at me. One of the other baristas darted away into the back quickly, holding his mouth as if he was about to vomit. The young woman behind the cash register seemed to be leaning into the counter, my background in criminology told me she was reaching for a panic button Think, Anna, think...'I chided myself internally. I needed to make a comeback and deescalate the situation. Now Taking a deep breath, I decided to dust off a language I hadn't spoken in many years. I knew it would be rusty, but I had no other options I lifted my hands above my head, elbows bent lazily "White man bad! White man hurt!" I grunted primitively, swaying from side to side, "White man kill!" A collective sigh of relief seemed to pulsate throughout the Starbucks. The young barista held her chest in elation, as if some terrible wrong had been done justice. She ended her reach for the panic button, and instead grabbed the cup that had been sitting to her side for the past few minutes It was my organic kale carrot Aboriginal-picked matcha and pine gluten-free latte She handed me my receipt for the $451 beverage, along side my drink and cleared her throat "Have a good day, ma'am."

Anonymous 03/21/15 (Sat) 10:14:29 ID: 4696fa No.1523083 File。hide): 1426947269538.pg (31 05 KB. 358x400.179 203, 1424707a79822.pa) to be not-racist you just don't have to genocide people differently than you sure thing boss to be not-racist you just don't have to lynch people different than you can do! to be not-racist you have to allow all of your businesses to employ and serve non-whites just as whites ok to be not-racist you have to have a percentage of non-whites in your company wait a... to be not-racist you have to have non-white friends, your family must be friends with non-whites, you have to meet non-whites at work, church, home, shopping and school, you have to have a strict percentage of non- whites on your facebook, go to the favelas and ghettos of your non-white brothers, have non-white bosses and eat your food with non-whites That sounds orwellian, I won't do it 'm calling the thought police right this instant

▶ Anonymous 03/21/15 (Sat) 09:59:20 ID: 68b7dc No.1523023 >>1523570 File (hide): 1426946360569 gif (704.88 KB, 178x189, 178:189, 1410189203533.aif) 1522931 (0P) quota of friends of different race to be politically correct

>"Hello, welcome to Starbucks! May I start out by saying that we need to discuss #RaceTogether and bring up why you are white privileged scum?" 12 KB JPG >Will that be a large or a medium?

Follow Arthur Chu @arthur_affect I don't think #RaceTogether is a cynical marketing move. I think it's sincere, and that's why it's depressing @salon slnm.us/736qnsQ 6:43 PM - 18 Mar 2015 18 RETWEETS 21 FAVORITES 다★

About • Origin • Spread • Search Interest •

About

#RaceTogether is a promotional Twitter hashtag launched by the American global coffeehouse chain Starbucks to encourage its customers to engage in conversations about the state of race relations in the United States. Upon its launch in March 2015, the campaign immediately became a target of criticisms and mockeries online for its provocative nature.

Origin

On March 16th, 2015, Starbucks, in partnership with USA Today^[1], announced a new co-op initiative called "Race Together," which aims to tackle the issue of race in the United States by encouraging its employees at 12,000 locations to “spark customer conversation on the topic of race." According to the USA Today's article, Starbucks baristas at participating locations will serve drinks in cups bearing the hashtag #RaceTogether, along with a "Race Together" pamphlet co-written by the coffeehouse chain and the daily newspaper.

Spread

On the morning of March 17th, dozens of Starbucks customers took their reactions to the #RaceTogether campaign on Twitter^[9], with many poking fun at the company's less than subtle attempt at incorporating the ongoing racial tension into their latest PR campaign, while others jeered that the company should instead focus on getting the customers' names right. According to Topsy^[6], the Twitter hashtag garnered more than 67,000 mentions within the first 48 hours of the campaign launch.

Follow Hasan Minhaj @hasanminha Before they write #RaceTogether on cups, can Starbucks just spell my name correctly? #SahanMinha #HansonMinaja #Saddam Hussain 10:40 AM - 17 Mar 2015 98 RETWEETS 128 FAVORITES

Follow Greg Carr @AfricanaCarr #RaceTogether should matter to @Starbucks. Coffee and sugar were 2 of the 3 drug:s (w/tobacco) that started this mess in the first place. 10:33 AM - 17 Mar 2015 208 RETWEETS 183 FAVORITES

Follow April @ReignOfApril Not sure what @Starbucks was thinking. I don't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train. #RaceTogether 7:59 AM-17 Mar 2015 538 RETWEETS 522F

WELCOMETOSTARBUCKS LET'S DISCUSS YOUR WHITE PRIVILEGE

臺壇Follow Ameena Rasheed @AmeenaRasheed What I want to do: 1. Eat pizza 2. Pay off my loan debt 77. Hang out with Rihanna 895. Talk about race at Starbucks #RaceTogether RETWEETS FAVORITES

MSNBC Segment

Later that evening, CBS Sunday Morning commentator Nancy Giles and New York City radio DJ and music blogger Jay Smooth appeared in a split-screen debate segment on MSNBC's nightly news program All In with Chris Hayes to discuss the Starbucks campaign and race relations in the United States, during which Giles insinuated that Smooth had co-opted black culture, unaware of the fact that Jay Smooth is half black.

"It's also interesting because I'm actually black, but you assumed otherwise. And this is the sort of awkwardness that we can look forward to at Starbucks across America."