Customer engagement has never been a problem for Starbucks.
Now Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz wants his customers to talk about racial issues in light of some racially-charged tragedies recently across the country.
Despite raw emotion around racial unrest from Ferguson, Missouri to New York City to Oakland, “we at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America,” Schultz said in a company release. “Not to point fingers or to place blame, and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are.”
For more than an hour, at an all-hands meeting at the Starbucks Support Center, partners representing various ages, races, and ethnicities passed a microphone and shared personal stories.
“The current state of racism in our country is almost like humidity at times. You can’t see it, but you feel it,” said one partner.
Over the past three months, more than 2,000 Starbucks partners have discussed racial issues at open forums in Oakland, Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York. and Chicago.
In the midst of a conversation with partners in St. Louis, a soft spoken young man shared that he was proud to have reached the age of 20.
“The magnitude of that statement might have been lost on many in the room, but for me, it brought to light a deeply troubling situation,” 
said Kelly Sheppard, a Starbucks 15-year partner who attended two of the forums. “For some young people in our country, just staying alive is their biggest and most important accomplishment. How could that be in 21st century America with all of the promise and opportunity our nation provides?”
In each forum, according to the company release, partners demonstrated vulnerability and courage as they shared personal stories. It was clear to those who attended, the gatherings highlighted the mission and values of Starbucks, and the partners’ desire to do more.
Starbucks baristas in cities where the forums were held said they wanted to do something tangible to encourage greater understanding, empathy, and compassion toward one another. Partners in Starbucks® stores may also engage customers in conversation through Race Together stickers available in select stores.
Race Together is not a solution, Schultz acknowledged, “but it is an opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society–one conversation at a time.”