Photo Credit: Robert Alexander – Getty Images
The two Black men that were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks for “not purchasing anything” finally reached a settlement with the establishment.
Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson did not want to file a lawsuit against the city, but instead chose to opt for a symbolic $1 each, along with the city FUNDING a $200,000 grant program for high school students who want to become entrepreneurs.
Philadelphia Mayor, Jim Kenney made a statement saying:
This was an incident that evoked a lot of pain in our city, pain that would’ve resurfaced over and over again in protracted litigation, which presents significant legal risks and high financial and emotional costs for everyone involved.
Nelson and Robinson much rather work with the city to prevent another incident like this from happening again, while providing a place for students to follow their entrepreneurial dreams.
Starbucks executive Kevin Johnson stated that :
Starbucks will continue to take actions that stem from this incident to repair and reaffirm our values and vision for the kind of company we want to be.
Thoughts?