Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has defended the company 's ridiculed 'Race Together ' campaign as 'very genuine ' . The campaign is encouraging workers to write 'Race Together ' on cups and strike up conversations about race as they serve customers their coffee . The company is also preparing a guide with questions to pose , such as : 'How have your racial views evolved from those of your parents ? ' After the campaign was announced earlier this week , the coffee chain was slammed on social media and was accused of using racial tensions to boost its bottom line . But during Starbucks ' annual shareholders meeting in Seattle on Wednesday , Schultz defended the campaign and said the company is simply trying to use its massive reach for good . Defense : Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told Good Morning America , pictured , that he is simply trying to use the company 's reach for good with its new 'Race Together ' campaign . 'Some in the media will criticize Starbucks for having a political agenda , ' he said . 'Our intentions are pure . ' Speaking on CBS This Morning on Thursday , he added : 'This is a highly charged , highly emotional issue , we understand that . 'We 've tried to be very thoughtful , very genuine , very authentic and recognize that by leveraging our stores , potentially , we can elevate the conversation and make a positive difference . ' He said that he was not surprised by the backlash but that if the company 's workers can 'elevate the understanding and the empathy with one customer per day ' , he will be satisfied . After the campaign was announced , Twitter ruthlessly mocked Starbucks . One user tweeted : ' I do n't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train . ' Standing firm : He also addressed the massive social media backlash during the company 's annual shareholder 's meeting in Seattle on Wednesday ( pictured ) , saying : 'Our intentions are pure ' Support : Schultz was joined on stage at the annual meeting by rapper Common , who also spoke about the importance of engaging with people from different backgrounds in support of the campaign . Controversial : The new campaign encourages workers to write 'Race Together ' on customer 's cups and to strike up conversations about race . Pictured , customer Matt Ullman shows off one of the new stickers . Another added : ' # 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 . ' An executive on Starbucks ' communications team , Corey duBrowa , even blocked people on Twitter before temporarily taking down his account after being bombarded with criticism over the campaign . DuBrowa later said in a post on Medium that he felt he was being 'personally attacked in a cascade of negativity ' and that he had gotten overwhelmed , but later reactivated the account . When Good Morning America asked Schultz about some of the scathing criticism on Thursday , Schultz responded : 'Well , you know what I say to that - no good deed goes unpunished . ' He has explained that workers do not have to participate in the campaign , and that stores can make customers another drink or cover up cups if they do n't like the message . Ridiculed : After the campaign was announced , Twitter users slammed the idea as naive . Questions : Another Twitter user pointed out the lack of diversity in the campaign material . Inserting itself into national issues is not new territory for Starbucks Corp . In late 2012 , the chain asked workers to write 'Come together ' on cups to send a message to lawmakers about stalled budget negotiations . And in 2013 , the chain placed newspaper ads saying that firearms were not welcome in its cafes after they became the site of gun rallies . But the company stopped short of an outright ban . Schultz said at the time that Starbucks was neither for nor against guns , underscoring that even a company that wants a voice in national conversations has to be careful about alienating customers . See below for video .
CEO Howard Schultz has said the company is trying to use its popularity to 'elevate the conversation and make a positive difference ' The Starbucks logo on display at an event in New York City last month where it announced plans for new stores around the world