Today, May 29, Starbucks cafés nationwide will be closing to conduct racial bias/ sensitivity training following the arrest of two Black patrons at a Philadelphia location last month.

The training is in response to the Seattle-based company receiving backlash over the incident, where employees called the police on two African-American real estate agents who were waiting for a friend to conduct a business meeting.


Rapper and activist Common will be lending a hand to the cause, as the Oscar-winner will be featured in a series of videos throughout the training, according to the Wall Street Journal. The videos will tell the stories of “people who’ve had a heightened level of self-awareness when dealing with those in the service field and how one wrong gesture can alter their reality.”