article_snippet: (CNN)Starbucks charges more than $5 for a large ("venti" in Starbucks speak)
article_snippet: But when Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced a plan Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz hoped would ease racial tensions, the response was immediate outrage!
article_snippet: This latest controversy started Monday when Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz unveiled a new initiative in which Starbucks baristas would write the words "Race Together" on coffee cups to help spark a dialogue on race.
article_snippet: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz even took out full-page ads in The New York Times and USA Today touting this effort.
article_snippet: I, on the other hand, applaud Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's efforts, at least in theory.
article_snippet: As Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz correctly stated when discussing the genesis for "Race Together," "If we just keep going about we business ... and ignoring this (racial issue), then I think we are, in a sense, part of the problem.
article_snippet: Sure, I also see some logistical problems with the "get your iced Mocha Frappuccino with a shot of racial tolerance" approach.
article_snippet: First, I live in New York City, where New Yorkers barely have the patience to wait for a cup of plain old coffee to be poured let alone stand in line longer while people engage in a nuanced discourse on race.
article_snippet: Next thing you know, Starbucks will have to coin politically correct terms for "black" coffee.
article_snippet: And as a practical matter, only 40% of Starbucks employees are minorities.
article_snippet: Consequently, in StarbucksStarbucks, the conversation about racial tolerance will between be between two white people.
article_snippet: And that's simply what Starbucks'
article_snippet: True, the line at Starbucks might not be the best place.
article_snippet: But the line at Starbucks has to start somewhere if we are going to close the racial gap that many, including myself, feel is growing.
highlights_snippet: Response mostly negative after Starbucks launches initiative to talk about race relations .
  
highlights_snippet: Dean Obeidallah: Starbucks might not be best place, but how do Starbucks start a talk about race?