How Coffee Shop Racism Harms Black Patients

A couple of weeks ago, two black men entered the Philadelphia Starbucks store to meet a friend, and have a conversation, just like many of us usually do. Unlike many of us, however, they were arrested for trespassing – after minutes of taking their seats. A phone call – that lasted only 30 seconds – led to an arrest of these young individuals, and a national conversation on race relations in the United States in the ensuing days.