Police arrested two black men in Starbucks and later it was revealed that one of those men was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. One of those black men named Rashon Nelson also attended Bloomsburg University during 2013-2017 as a finance student. Antonio F. Knox, Sr. released a statement this morning in which it was told that the recent times had unveiled the dark and black side of racism. The incident that took place in Starbucks involved one of our Omega family members. The young guy arrested is the perfect example of resilient courage.
It was further told in the statement that we are grateful to the God as the confrontation of our family member with the police could result much worse. The Martin Luther King Jr. said that it is time to bring our nation out from the darkness of injustice.
He also told that capturing the innocent member of their family is a complete injustice and this case might prove to be a catalyst for the positive change our nation is waiting for last 50 years. When people of all ethnicities speak together, the world listens. There were a few others in Starbucks who spoke against this illegal capturing.
Later, the CEO of Starbucks apologized publically about the incident and said that the police should not arrest people without any solid evidence. Antonio F. Knox also urged his nation to stick together in this bad patch and told them that such situations would make them even stronger as a nation.
Explanation Given By The CEO Of Starbucks:
Starbucks is facing a lot of denunciation from last few days as the police arrested the two black men sitting in Starbucks. A movement against Starbucks with the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks also started on the social media following this incident.
The CEO of Starbucks explained why the manager made a phone call to the police. While giving an interview to Robin Roberts, Kevin Johnson said that the circumstances outside the store were reprehensible and for calling the police I apologize from the people and the black people arrested by the police. Police should be called if there is a threat, but calling a police when there is nothing wrong, is inappropriate and what happened to those two black people was wrong.
The Apple News journalist Christopher Norris who was at the hotel at that night reported what he saw there. Norris said that she met with the manager who called the police. Norris told that she didn’t give him her last name, and her first name was Holly. Holly told Norris that she had faced many individuals lingering in the hotel and she always had a critical eye on such individuals. According to Holly, both of them had no intentions of purchasing anything and one of them also chased her around the hotel.
Holly further told that excessive loitering is not allowed as per decided by the corporate policy of Center City Philadelphia. I called the police as I noticed excessive loitering in the hotel and if I violated the policy then the higher management should reinforce such policies. Norrish told that Holly didn’t tell any customer about her call to the police. Holly didn’t make any comment about whether her call to the police was appropriate or not. Holly didn’t find any excuse so at the end she ended the debate saying that she was just following the protocol.
Norris also revealed the conversation he had with another black student named Lya. She told Norris that she sat for two hours in the hotel and in this time period she was enquired three times whether she would take anything. Lya also that told she noted several patrons sitting in the hotel with only a glass of water for doing the exact same things.
When Norrish asked about the disparity in treating the black and white people, Lya didn’t make any comment and then refused to answer any further question.
According to the Linkedin profile, Rashon Nelson was a co-worker at Amazon store. Later it was revealed that a meeting was held by the Starbucks management but no further detail was provided about the meeting.