‘See me as me’: Starbucks honors Black History Month
Four Starbucks partners share some of the key moments that shaped who they are, who they strive to be, and how they encourage others.
This February, during Black History Month, Starbucks is proud to celebrate the unique stories of our black partners. We honor them and we see them, and we encourage you to see them too. Move past the stereotypes, the assumptions, the misperceptions, the things you think you may know, the skin color. And get to know them as individuals. Learn the breadth and depth of their distinct lives. Look closer.
LT Smith
“My purpose is to leave people and things better than I found it, to live through reciprocity and generosity.”
Courtney
I love who I am and what I represent. I love the color of my skin and I’m proud to be an African American. I’m showing what’s possible.”
Adrianna and Linda Marie
“It’s a statement of, ‘I am a Black woman and I take pride in being a Black woman by taking pride in how I present myself, taking pride in how I wear my hair.’ ”
Edna
“We all had feelings of being outsiders, of melting away our identities to fit in, and now we were like, we’re not going to melt away anymore.”
Samantha
The more that we can share stories, the more that we can see the kind of richness that different people’s perspectives come from.”
Donise
“To ask a global question like that makes it clear you don’t understand that. Why are you making the assumption that all black people think the same way?”
Casey
“I generally felt seen in the way that you don’t really want to – standing out because of what I look like, friends assuming I was adopted, people unsure how to interact with me.”