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Liberal TV show parodies Starbucks’ 'racial bias training.' This is what happened at real training.
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Liberal TV show parodies Starbucks’ 'racial bias training.' This is what happened at real training.

Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" made its own version of a Starbucks "racial bias training video" and crafted what they imagined such a training tool would look like.

"The Daily Show" released its take on the video just a day after 8,000 Starbucks stores closed down for racial bias training.

What's in the video?

In the video, which was shared to "The Daily Show's" Twitter page on Tuesday, the production tackled how Starbucks employees could feasibly — and equally — serve its black patrons.

Several suggestions included pointers on how to greet black patrons, how to spell names on cups, and more.

See the video below.

Why the racial bias training anyway?

Starbucks made the decision to require that employees undergo the training after the franchise faced major backlash when a Philadelphia store manager called the police on two black men who were waiting for a colleague and hadn't purchased anything at the store.

Kevin Johnson, the company’s CEO, issued a public apology to the men in a statement.

“I’m writing this evening to convey three things: First, to once again express our deepest apologies to the two men who were arrested with a goal of doing whatever we can to make things right," Johnson said. "Second, to let you know of our plans to investigate the pertinent facts and make any necessary changes to our practices that would help prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again. And third, to reassure you that Starbucks stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling.”

So what happened during Tuesday's training?

According to Starbucks employees, some of the topics covered during Tuesday's training included questions to employees about their "natural hair" as well as how often friends of different races visit their homes, Business Insider reported on Wednesday.

According to the outlet, "The training, which was provided to some 175,000 employees, included a 'personal notebook' for employees to fill out. It encouraged them to become 'color brave.'"

The notebook encouraged employees to document their answers to the following questions:

  1. The first time you noticed your racial identity.
  2. The first time you noticed how your race affected your beauty standards.
  3. The first time you felt your accent impacted people's perception of your intelligence or competence.
  4. The first time you altered your communication style (dialed it up or down) to avoid playing into stereotypes.
  5. The first time you had a friend of a different race who regularly visited your home.
  6. The first time you felt distracted at work because of external events related to race.
  7. The first time you had a senior role model in your organization with a similar racial identity as your own.
  8. The first time you went to work with your natural hair without comments or questions from others.
  9. The first time you felt your race affected your ability to build a rapport with your manager.

On Wednesday, Starbucks published the notebook as well as the training materials for public consumption.

You can watch some Starbucks employees' reactions to the training in the video below.

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