RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on April 12, 2018, two African-American men asked to use the restroom of a Starbucks located at 18th and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia's Center City; and
WHEREAS, an employee refused the request because the men had not bought anything, and once the men sat down, they were asked to leave; and
WHEREAS, when the men refused to leave the employee called the police and the men were arrested on suspicion of trespassing; and
WHEREAS, a Caucasian man, Andrew Yaffe, informed the police that the two men were not trespassing and that he was there to meet them; and
WHEREAS, despite this information, the two African-American men were arrested but later released from police custody when Starbucks did not want to press charges; and
WHEREAS, the video of the incident was viewed more than 10 million times online, prompting accusations of racism, calls for protests and boycotts; and
WHEREAS, this incident goes to the heart of how Starbucks models itself, with campaigns that address racial and social issues and promotion of its image as a community meeting place for customers to sit down and relax: and
WHEREAS, the Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks, Kevin R. Johnson, immediately took to the airwaves in an interview with ABC's Good Morning America and stated that what happened to the men was wrong, and met with them to personally apologize; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson said, "It's my responsibility to understand what happened and what led to that, and ensure that we fix it," and announced that the company was reviewing guidelines throughout its 28,000 stores worldwide; and
WHEREAS, in addition, Mr. Johnson and his leadership team visited the Starbucks where the incident took place and spoke to the demonstrators who filled the store to discuss and understand what had happened; and
WHEREAS, on April 17, 2018, Starbucks announced that they will close more than 8,000 stores with nearly 175,000 current employees in the United States for one day, May 29, 2018 to conduct anti-bias training to address implicit bias, with input from groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Anti-Defamation League, and from former United States Attorney General Eric Holder; and
WHEREAS, we laud the good corporate citizenship that Starbucks has demonstrated - their leadership should be emulated; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
That the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this eighteenth day of April, 2018, do hereby support Starbucks in its effort to conduct an anti-bias training and commend them for their leadership; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Board of Directors of the Starbucks Corporation.
Edward ]\L Burke Alderman, 14th Ward