Starbucks to close 8,000 stores for race-sensitivity class May 29

Starbucks, the global coffeehouse chain, has announced plans to close more than 8,000 company-owned locations during the afternoon of May 29 to provide racial tolerance training to employees in the wake of an embarrassing incident in Philadelphia.

Taking a big step Tuesday to try and turn down the temperature after the arrest of two African-American men at a Philadelphia Starbucks sparked days of protests and calls for a boycott over claims of racial profiling.

Starbucks says all of its 8,000-plus company-owned locations in the US will be shut down for the afternoon of May 29, so staff can go through racial-bias training.

CEO Kevin Johnson took the drastic step after meeting with and apologizing to the two men who were arrested after a manager called the police though the two men were not misbehaving in any way. That manager is no longer with the company.