Lakewood Starbucks Part Of Anti-Bias Training

LAKEWOOD – More than 8,000 Starbucks stores, including the one in Lakewood, will close for one hour at 2 p.m. Tuesday for anti-bias training.

A spokeswoman said the Lakewood store will be closed from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. for the training session.
The training is in reaction to an incident in a Philadelphia Starbucks in April in which two black men were waiting for a friend. A worker complained because the men did not purchase anything and she denied one of the men access to the restroom. The two were charged with trespassing, but the charges were later removed and Starbucks and the police apologized.

As many as 180,000 Starbucks employees will receive training from a “tool kit” which a spokesman said “focus on understanding prejudice and the history of public accommodations in the United States.” Starbucks also said future training will address “all aspects of bias and experience.”

Stores will be closed for three hours starting at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m., across the U.S.

CEO Kevin Johnson ordered the training after protesters marched on the Philadelphia claiming Starbucks is “anti-black.”