Starbucks has been accused of racial discrimination yet again after a black man was denied entrance to the bathroom just after a white man was allowed entry. Both men didn’t purchase anything at the store.
Carson, Calif. native Brandon Ward tells CBS News Monday (Apr. 16) he was inspired to re-share his incident after seeing two black men get arrested for waiting for their friend in a Starbucks chain in Philadelphia on Apr. 12. “Once the thing happened this past weekend in Philadelphia, that’s when I was like, ‘Hey, the same thing happened to me,'” Ward said.
In the four-month-old video, Ward arrived at the Starbucks, where he asked the baristas for the code to use the bathroom. He was denied the code, but it was however given to a man named Weston, who also hadn’t bought anything from the store.
Ward waited for Westin to confirm what he believed was a case of racial discrimination. “Have you purchased anything here? You just asked for the code and they gave it to you right, before you made a purchase?” he asked Weston, before confronting the baristas.
“Why are they so upset with me, Weston?,” Ward asks as security tries to usher him out the store. “What did I do? I just tried to use the bathroom like you. Is it my skin color? I couldn’t use the bathroom but Weston could. I feel it may be my skin color. But hey, this is about to go on social media, this is about to go in The Shade Room.”
The video was shared online by activist Shaun King, who called the incident a case of racism.
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/985896896433602565
The company hasn’t responded to Ward’s incident, but have implemented a strong dose of damage control to counter the arrest of the men in Philadelphia. The CEO of Starbucks Co., Kevin Johnson, is planning to personally apologize to the men for the “reprehensible outcome” of the ordeal.