Black men arrested in Starbucks settle for US$1

The two African American men who was arrested at a Philadelphia branch of Starbucks last month have reached a settlement with the coffee shop and the city for US$1 (AU$1.33) each. Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson have both accepted the symbolic amount and a promise from the city to set up a US$200,000 (AU$266,000) entrepreneurship program for public school students.

Details of their financial settlement with Starbucks are confidential, though the parties said they agreed to work together to “develop specific actions and opportunities.” The coffee shop giant has previously announced that it would close about 8,000 company-owned stores in the US on May 29 for racial bias training.

As part of the settlement, Starbucks has also invited the men to complete their undergraduate degrees through the company’s scholarship program with Arizona State University. The men will also meet with former US Attorney Eric Holder, who was hired by the company as part of its “long-term diversity and equity efforts.”

Nelson and Robinson have also reached settlement with the city of Philadelphia for a symbolic US$1 each. They will work with the city and a non-profit organisation to fund a US$200,000 grant establishing a “pilot curriculum for public high school students to develop the skills necessary to pursue their dream of being entrepreneurs,” city spokesman Mike Dunn said.

In April, a Starbucks manager called cops on Nelson and Robinson because they hadn’t ordered anything. When they asked to use the restroom, an employee said the facility was for paying customers only. They were waiting for a friend on their table when cops showed up to arrest them for allegedly trespassing. They said they were targeted because they were black. They were only there for two minutes before the cops showed up.

They were taken to the police station and kept there for more than eight hours before they were released without charges. Their arrest, recorded on mobile phone by another customer, was uploaded online and went viral, prompting social media and activists to demand corrective action from Starbucks and from the police officers.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross previously defended the officers’ action, saying they “did absolutely nothing wrong.” He also said the men even insulted the officers’ pay grade when they were asked to leave.

However, Ross had a change of tone come April. He apologised on the same day Nelson and Robinson told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that they were arrested only two minutes after entering the establishment. Ross said at a news conference that he was not aware of Starbuck’s policy that allows people to sit inside the stores without buying anything.

“I can appreciate, in light of the Starbucks policy and how well known it is to many, why these two men were appalled when asked to leave. And for this reason, me, I apologise to them,” he said.