Each day, we all have the opportunity to make the change that we wish to see in the world. However, only a few of us are truly in a position to make immediate, large-scale reform.
In April 2018, 2 ordinary men from Philadelphia were thrust into the spotlight when a cafe manager accused them of committing a crime. Rather than dwelling on what happened, they used the opportunity to enact the kind of change and reform they always dreamed of but never had the platform for…
An Afternoon At Starbucks
On April 12, 2018, 23-year-old Rashon Nelson and 23-year-old Donte Robinson entered a Starbucks at Rittenhouse Square, an affluent neighborhood in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After walking inside, the young men sat down at a table and quietly continued their conversation.
A Business Meeting
Rashon and Donte are longtime friends, and on that April afternoon, the 2 had come to Starbucks to meet with another friend for a business meeting to speak about a possible real estate opportunity. Sadly, they never got a chance to have the meeting…
Minding Their Own Business
The 2 men were sitting quietly minding their own business like everyone else in the cafe that afternoon. However, unlike all the other people in the Starbucks, the manager singled Rashon and Donte out because they hadn’t ordered anything.
Waiting For A Friend
Rashon and Donte explained they were waiting for their friend to arrive and didn’t want to order anything until he had joined them. The manager didn’t believe their story, however, and asked them to leave. Rashon and Donte then calmly insisted they really were just waiting for their friend to arrive…
The 911 Call
The store manager refused to listen to what the pair was saying, and accused them both of trespassing when they wouldn’t leave the cafe. Since Rashon and Donte wouldn’t leave, the store manager decided to call the police to report the 2 men.
The Trespassers
The store manager told the police that there were 2 men in the Starbucks that refused to purchase any food or beverages and wouldn’t leave when ordered to. Not long after, police officers from the Philadelphia Police Department arrived at the cafe…
Things Escalate
The police officers approached Rashon and Donte, who were still just trying to talk quietly amongst themselves, placed them both in handcuffs, and arrested them both for trespassing. Meanwhile, customers inside the cafe started to notice what was going on.
Looking For Answers
The other people inside the Philadelphia Starbucks started asking the police and the staff what was going on, and what the men had done to warrant being arrested. When no one could give them a legitimate answer, 1 of the women inside the cafe took out her phone and started filming…
The Footage
“The girl behind the counter had called 911, apparently, and the cops came and said the guys were ‘trespassing,'” she said. “They said we were waiting for somebody,” said Melissa DePino, who filmed the confronting scene and later posted it online.
The ‘Friend’ Arrives
As the men were being led out of the Starbucks and into police cars, the ‘friend’ that they insisted they were waiting for since the manager confronted them showed up. “Then the white guy in the video — that’s their family friend they were waiting for — he shows up. The guys wanted to know what they did. And then more cops and more cops and more cops show up,” Melissa said…
Staying Calm
Despite the madness of the situation, Melissa explained Rashon and Donte remained incredibly calm. They “never raised their voices” and “never did anything remotely aggressive.” Melissa posted the video online and was stunned when it rapidly went viral.
Shared With The World
“The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing,” Melissa wrote in the caption of the video…
The Public Reacts
When some people saw the video, they were outraged at what happened. For many, it was clear that the men were being racially profiled and punished for doing something that white people get away with all the time at Starbucks cafes. Yet, not everyone had the same reaction to the video.
Differing Opinions
Some felt that the manager had a right to call the police because the men hadn’t purchased anything. Others believed the men must have done something else not shown in the video for the manager to call the police and for the officers to arrest them…
No Extenuating Circumstances
“People ignore this kind of stuff,” Melissa said. “They don’t believe that it happens. People are saying that there must be more to this story. There is not. This would never happen to someone who looks like me. People don’t believe black people when they say this stuff happens. It does. They want to know the extenuating circumstances. There are none.”
No Evidence
Meanwhile, Rashon and Donte had been taken to the police station and spent hours in jail. Ultimately, the police released them both and no charges were filed because there was a lack of evidence. But the damage had already been done, and people across the country vowed to boycott the cafe chain…
The Apology
Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, quickly released a statement apologizing to the 2 men and all of their customers for what happened at the Philadelphia store. “We apologize to the two individuals and our customers for what took place… We take these matters seriously and clearly have more work to do when it comes to how we handle incidents in our stores. We are reviewing our policies and will continue to engage with the community and the police department to try to ensure these types of situations never happen in any of our stores,” he wrote.
The Starbucks Settlement
After being released from prison, the 23-year-olds reached a settlement agreement with both Starbucks and the city of Philadelphia for what happened. As part of the settlement with Starbucks, Rashon and Donte received a financial settlement, the amount of which is unknown. The company also offered to pay their tuition at Arizona State University, an online college program that they offer to all Starbucks employees. Finally, Starbucks will meet with the men to discuss their experience and help them reform company policies and practices…
A Productive Resolution
In their settlement with the city, Rashon and Donte had their records expunged and accepted just $1 each from the city and insisted that the rest of the $200,000 be donated completely to set up an entrepreneur program for high school students in the city. “I am pleased to have resolved the potential claims against the City in this productive manner… Rather than spending time, money, and resources to engage in a potentially adversarial process, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson approached the City and invited us to partner with them in an attempt to make something positive come of this. This agreement is the result of those conversations, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of this effort in the coming months and years,” Mayor Jim Kenney said.
Working For Change
“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,” said Donte after reaching the settlement with the city. “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.”
2 Men Celebrate $2 Settlement After Being Arrested For Bogus Crime is an article from: LifeDaily