Starbucks anti-bias training (5/29/2018)
photo by Josh Trujillo / Starbucks Newsroom
Context
On April 12th, 2018, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, two black American men, were waiting in a Rittenhouse Square Starbucks for a business associate to arrive. A white store manager gave them two options: make a purchase or leave. After assuring the manager that they would make a purchase as soon as their colleague arrived, the manager called the police. The two were arrested and led out in handcuffs. It had been less than 10 minutes since they arrived. The incident was recorded by another customer and went viral on Twitter within hours. Weeks of protests erupted against one of the world’s most recognizable brands, and an international dialogue surged about the troubled history of black American expulsion from spaces of public accommodation in the United States.
The Work
Starbucks quickly engaged a small team to help plan and design a 4-hour, in-store experience, to reconnect their communities with the core purpose of the organization and bring every partner (what Starbucks calls each of its employees) into empathetic dialogue to understand that what happened on April 12th should never happen again.
Photo by Ida Benedetto
My role
As a strategist and narrative designer moving between teams in San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City, I crafted the narrative design and designed the data-tested tools used to guide the Starbucks experience.
Alongside Creative Directors, Designers, and Principals, along with key leadership at Starbucks and external accountability stakeholders helping to define the path forward, I helped to integrate subject matter expertise and insights from rapid iterations on content derived from cross-country user feedback sessions. The work was constantly expert-tested to incorporate best practices in current bias training and moments of personal reflection that addressed the trauma of partners working in Starbucks stores with respect and compassion.
The full Starbucks curriculum includes a 68-page workbook, a self-reflection journal, and an hour of video content experienced as a self-guided, transmedia experience.
Full Starbucks anti-bias curriculum
Check out the interactive experience I’ve built to see how it relates to your own work
SELECTED MEDIA:
NYTimes article
“Starbucks’s Tall Order: Tackle Systemic Racism in 4 Hours”
This American Life
648: Unteachable Moment. All the Caffeine in the World Doesn’t Make You Woke. Kelefa Sanneh. This American Life. June 8, 2018.
Starbucks review of the moment:
“Beyond May 29: Lessons from Starbucks anti-bias training — and what’s next” Linda Dahlstrom, Starbucks Newsroom. July 02, 2018.
One Year Later
“One year later: A timeline of controversy and progress since the Starbucks arrests seen ’round the world” Anna Orso, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBC. Updated: April 12, 2019
DEMOS review and recommendations
Toward a Vision for Racial Equity & Inclusion at Starbucks: Review and Recommendations
Photo by Ida Benedetto
