Skip to content Skip to footer

The two Black men bagged at Starbucks settle for $1, start a youth entrepreneurship program

The arrest of Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson at a Starbucks last month shocked the world as the men spent hours in jail just for hanging out in a cafe.

Both men who are Black were racially profiled after the manager of the Rittenhouse Square Starbucks snitched to the police, saying the men refused to buy anything or leave.

Of course, people took to the internet and torched Starbucks in protest of the unfair arrests because the coffee company has always been socially conscious. Still, yesterday it seems as if the mega coffee chain and the city of Philadelphia have finally made the proper amends.

The two men who got bagged were released from jail without any charges filed, settled with Starbucks Wednesday for an undisclosed sum and were offered a free college education through a Starbucks partnership at Arizona State University, according to the Associated Press.

This calls for a coffee celebration. Pour it up!

French Vanilla Starbucks GIF by Diddy - Find & Share on GIPHY

Besides the dropped charges, well-deserved settlement funds, and college tuition, Robinson and Nelson also made another arrangement with the city of Philadelphia. Both men were given a symbolic sum of $1 and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs, according to the AP.

“We thought long and hard about it, and we feel like this is the best way to see that change that we want to see… It’s not a right-now thing that’s good for right now, but I feel like we will see the true change over time,” said Robinson.

The entrepreneurial youth program will be very lit. Once implemented it looks to counsel and mentor the youth from Philadelphia high schools.

It’s always good to instill the core values of salesmanship into a young mind. Hopefully, those who take part in the program are aware of the sacrifice that was made in order to get to this point.

In addition to this awesome news, both Robinson and Nelson will have their arrest records expunged and the ability to share their recommendations for changes at Starbucks with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, according to the AP.

Starbucks, on the other hand, will be closing down more than 8,000 US stores in order to train 175,000 employees in unconscious bias.

When Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson came to Philadelphia to apologize to the men, he announced that this will be going down the afternoon of May 29.

Nelson considered himself to be at “the wrong place at the right time because of the outcome that can come out of it.” This is really the beginning of something special.

Too bad people had to suffer in order to see the light.

https://giphy.com/gifs/9ZnqxTL4lRR3a