Starbucks ‘Race Together’ Cup Messages Go Away After Criticism
Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz addresses the "Race Together" program during the Starbucks annual shareholders meeting March 18, 2015 in Seattle.
Photographer: Stephen Brashear/Getty ImagesStarbucks Corp. employees will no longer write “Race Together” on customers’ cups, ending the first stage of the company’s controversial effort to spur a discussion on U.S. race relations.
The coffee chain is now moving ahead with the next phase of the program, Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said in an open letter to workers on Sunday. That includes employee forums, dialogue with police and community leaders, and a commitment to expanding stores to urban communities, he said. The “Race Together” cup messages, which were criticized as ham-fisted on social media, ended on Sunday -- as was originally planned, Schultz said.