Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the ADL. Image by flickr

By Ari Feldman May 1, 2018

Starbucks has dropped the Anti-Defamation League as a participant in its racial sensitivity training following pressure from Women’s March activists, POLITICO reported.

The training, scheduled for May 29, was announced after two black men were arrested for loitering in a Philadelphia Starbucks. Videos of the incident were widely shared on social media, leading to criticism of the company and accusations of racial bias among Starbucks staff.

Shortly after, Starbucks announced the ADL would help lead a day-long session of racial sensitivity training for employees in all 8,000 of Starbucks’ U.S. locations. The partnership immediately drew sharp criticism from leaders of the Women’s March activist group.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“The ADL is CONSTANTLY attacking black and brown people,” Women’s March organizer Tamika Mallory wrote on Twitter. “This is a sign that they are tone deaf and not committed to addressing the concerns of black folk.”

Starbucks made the ADL’s diminished role clear in an April 24 press release that didn’t mention the ADL leader Jonathan Greenblatt’s direct involvement in the training. Rather, the company said the ADL would “consult” on long-term anti-bias training.

“When Starbucks asked for assistance, we agreed to help,” Todd Gutnick, an ADL spokesman, told POLITICO. “As to whether Starbucks may or may not now want to utilize our expertise, you should ask them.”

Greenblatt, a former vice president for Starbucks, had spoken on news programs and tweeted about the upcoming training. In his last tweet about the training, which came out a day after Starbucks’ press release on April 25, Greenblatt wrote, “Starbucks is committed for long haul and ADL will be there every step of the way.”

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount