Starbucks is ‘Anti-Black,’ Say Protesters at Philly Coffee House
REUTERS
By Kaitlyn D’Onofrio
Protesters on Monday marched to the Starbucks where two Black men were arrested last Thursday after asking to use the bathroom before ordering a coffee.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the manager who called the police is no longer working for Starbucks following a “mutual” decision.
Protests continued for a couple of hours.
Video shared on Twitter shows demonstrators chanting, “A whole lot of racism, a whole lot of whack, Starbucks coffee is anti-Black.”
John Kopp
@WriterJohnKopp
Protests begin inside Starbucks where two black men were arrested while waiting for a friend last week.
4:29 AM – Apr 16, 2018
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The store closed as a result of the demonstrations, according to media reports.
Other chants included “Anti-blackness anywhere is anti-blackness everywhere,” and “Don’t arrest me. Arrest the police,” according to the Philly Inquirer.
A large banner read “End Stop & Frisk.”
Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who is Black, stuck up for his officers and said they didn’t do anything wrong. But the commissioner being Black alone does not give him credibility to speak on the issue.
In an open mic-style series, protesters took turns speaking their mind. One young woman spoke up about police and Black police officers.
“Let’s be very clear. I don’t care what color a police officer is. And here’s why. Because once they put that uniform on, they are a tool and they are a soldier for the state. And that state seeks to kill and destroy Black people and Black men. And so you can be Black, brown, blue, we can name Crayola colors all day. But you in that uniform? Nah, you’re cancelled, because you’re dangerous to me. You’re dangerous to me. And we can talk about ‘we all Black’ and ‘we all have the same experience.’ I don’t know what experience you could’ve had that told you that being a cop and being a Black person made sense.”
“No amount of blood money would make me okay with selling out my community,” she added.
