Starbucks has been a pretty progressive company that has allowed their employees to have wild hair colors, wear LGBT+ Pride apparel, and have even abolished their dress code. This morning, an Internal Memo banned staff members from wearing any Black Lives Matter apparel.
BuzzFeed News obtained the memo that stated that such messages are prohibited under the company’s policy against accessories that “advocated a political, religious or personal issue.”
Remember, Starbucks is the same company that once wrote “Race Together” on the side of cups in hope that the customer and staff would begin a dialogue about race.
Starbucks employees told BuzzFeed News “Starbucks LGBTQ+ partners wear LGBTQ+ pins and shirts, that also could incite and create violent experiences amongst partners and customers,” one black transgender employee of the coffee chain told BuzzFeed. “We have partners who experienced harassment and transphobia/homophobia for wearing their pins and shirts, and Starbucks still stands behind them.”
