Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz raised some eyebrows Tuesday night with his stance on racial bias training after two black men were arrested last year for just sitting in a Starbucks.
“As somebody who grew up in a very diverse background as a young boy in the projects, I didn’t see color as a young boy,” Schultz said during a CNN town hall. “And I honestly don’t see color now.”
A CNN commentator:
Stop saying “I don’t see color.” It’s BS. We want you to see our color and recognize the value of our diversity and the richness of our heritage. @HowardSchultz and @GovernorVA both show you, privilege allows you to attain some measure of success and still be ignorant.
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) February 13, 2019
A correspondent for The Nation:
So @HowardSchultz says “I don’t see color.” Next.
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) February 13, 2019
A HuffPost reporter:
Just checking, has anyone seen Howard Schultz and Sacha Baron Cohen in the same room? https://t.co/7cr6PCcsID
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 13, 2019
Watch Schultz’s comments here:
Howard Schultz on the Starbucks racial profiling incident: “I didn’t see color as a young boy and I honestly don’t see color now. … We need to do everything we can to restore the humanity of the country” and the president plays a large role #SchultzTownHall pic.twitter.com/uDTWNv2WJ0
— CNN (@CNN) February 13, 2019
I think he meant to say “I honestly don’t see colored people.”
Maybe he should get his vision checked?
Yeah, we need another ignorant liar as President.
Well, you need to see color if you’re going to make any kind of change to address systemic bias and racism and their effects on all lives and society.
I think I have got to the point where color doesn’t mean anything to me–or not enough to make any difference–but I do notice if a person is black or white or Asian or Hispanic. And I try, often, to ask myself whether color does make a difference in my perceptions.
In other words, to state the obvious, When you say you don’t see color, you see color.