Twitter has ruthlessly mocked Starbucks campaign for the company 's new anti-racism campaign in which baristas talk to customers about race issues while serving their coffee . One user tweeted , ' I do n't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train ' , while another pointed out , ' y'all realize there are no coloured hands in the press photos right ' . A third speculated , 'maybe Starbucks actually wanted to get people of all races & ethnicities to join hands and make fun ' . Scroll down for video . Campaign : Starbucks boss Howard Schultz has instructed staff to write 'RaceTogether ' on cups in an effort to draw customers into a discussion about the state of race relations in America . Talking point : Although Starbucks says that nobody will be forced into a discussion , baristas are attempting to speak to customers about racism in America by writing slogans on their coffee cups . But Twitter has branded the campaign 'cringe-inducing ' and 'patronizing ' Humiliation : Corey duBrowa , Starbucks ' Senior Vice President of Global Communications was forced to delete his account due to ' a cascade of negativity ' Corey duBrowa , the company 's Senior Vice President of Global Communications , was forced to delete his Twitter account , before re-activating it the next day . 'Last night I felt personally attacked in a cascade of negativity , ' he said in a post on Medium . ' I got overwhelmed by the volume and tenor of the discussion , and I reacted ' . Staff at the 4,700 cafés across America now have the option to write 'RaceTogether ' on cardboard cups , which is the slogan of a Starbucks anti-racism campaign . It was hoped that customers who encounter the slogan on their coffee cup would be inspired to discuss the deeper issues affecting America , in an attempt to 'create a more empathetic and inclusive society - one conversation at a time ' . But many customers found the campaign 'patronizing ' . ' # RaceTogether is what happens when a 1 % -er without any actual anti-racist education or training has a mid-life `` white man 's burden '' crisis , ' one user tweeted . Another took a sarcastic approach , tweeting a picture of a white barista , with the message : 'Here 's your macchiato ! Let 's discuss the historic disenfranchisement of your people that has allowed me to prosper . ' The campaign was the brainchild of Howard Schultz , 61 , the company 's boss , who has a track record of speaking out about contentious topics , from gay marriage to gun control . His decision came in response to the escalating racial tension that emerged when grand juries failed to indict white police officers involved in the killings of Michael Brown , 18 , in Ferguson , Missouri , and Eric Garner , 43 , in Staten Island , New York . Last year , Schultz travelled to Starbucks branches in the cities most affected by racial tension , including Los Angeles , St Louis , Chicago , New York , Oakland and Seattle . Mr Schulz met about 2,000 Starbucks staff on the tour , and made contact with the rest of his 200,000 employees - 40 per cent of whom are from ethnic minority backgrounds - via a video address . 'It 's an emotional issue , ' he said . 'But it is so vitally important to the country . ' Last week , the company ran full-page advertisements in the New York Times and USA Today , highlighting race tensions in the country . The page was black , with the words 'shall we overcome ? ' in the centre , and the company logo at the bottom . The campaign will continue on Friday , when every copy of USA Today will carry an insert about racism , which will also be stocked at branches of Starbucks . Schultz kicked off the campaign last December with a letter that appeared in TIME magazine . 'Last week , one thing became clear : we can not continue to come to work every day aware of the difficult and painful experiences facing our nation , and not acknowledge them , together , as a company , ' he wrote . 'Indeed , despite the raw emotion around the events and their underlying racial issues , we at Starbucks should be willing to talk about them . ' Schultz has a track record of using his public profile to highlight issues close to his heart . In 2013 , he wrote an open letter requesting customers to leave their guns at home when they visited his stores , even in states where they can be carried legally . 'We believe guns and weapons should not be part of the Starbucks experience , ' he said . He also spearheaded a petition to end federal shutdown in the same year , and launched a scheme to boost job creation in the U.S. by selling bracelets in its cafés in 2011 . Starbucks is also intending to employ 10,000 former members of the armed forces and their partners over five years . It is not known whether Starbucks is considering pulling the RaceTogether campaign . Traditionally , those who oppose Schultz ' views get short shrift : in 2013 , when an investor said that the company 's open support for gay marriage was harming sales , Schultz responded by suggesting that he sell his shares .
Howard Schultz , boss of Twitter , told users to write ' RaceTogether ' on cups in an effort to stimulate debate about racism . Twitter users quickly branded the campaign ' patronizing ' and ' publicity - worthy ' , and subjected executives to a barrage of mockery . One user pointed out that no black people featured in publicity photographs for the campaign . mark duBrowa , a Starbucks PR executive , was forced to delete his Twitter account as he felt ' overwhelmed by the volume and tenor of the discussion '