The newest promotion of coffee giant Starbucks attempts to combine serving beverages with combating racism, and has been met with confusion and criticism across the country.
The brand now allows baristas to write "Race Together" on the side of coffee cups, in an effort to spark a discussion between the employee and customer about race relations.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defended the idea, despite a large backlash on social media.
"Some people have said, 'Howard, this is not a subject we should touch,'" he said in a video message for his employees. "'This is not for you. This is not for a company. This is for someone else.' I reject that. I reject that completely."
The billionaire saw the "Race Together" campaign as a means of pushing the conversation about race in America forward.
"What if we were to write 'Race Together' on every Starbucks cup, and that facilitated a conversation between you and our customers?" he asked Starbucks workers. "And what if our customers as a result of that had a renewed level of understanding and sensitivity about the issue, and they themselves would spread that to their own sphere of influence?"
Despite its noble intentions, the campaign has been largely panned by Starbucks customers, celebrities, and pundits.
"Here's your macchiato!" writer Daniel Jose Older tweeted. "Let's discuss the historic disenfranchisement of your people that has allowed me to prosper."
"For the many and varied reasons people choose to work at Starbucks, a managerial command to talk to customers about race seems highly unlikely," Philip Terzian wrote in the Weekly Standard. "Race, and intimations of racism, are not the same as talking about sports or the weather: People lose their livelihood, and lives are blighted, by racial discourse."
Others have accused the coffee chain of trying to position themselves as more culturally aware, in order to increase profits.
In addition to writing "Race Together" on coffee cups, baristas can also start racial conversations by handing out "Race Together" stickers. The campaign rolled out on Monday in Starbucks stores nationwide.
