Advertisement

Black men arrested at Philadelphia Starbucks settle with city for $1 each, $200K pledge

Click to play video: 'Black men arrested at Philadelphia Starbucks settle with $1 each, $200K pledge for entrepreneurs'
Black men arrested at Philadelphia Starbucks settle with $1 each, $200K pledge for entrepreneurs
WATCH: The two men whose arrest at a Philadelphia Starbucks went viral have settled with the city for $1 each and also received a promise $200,000 would be used to set up a program for young entrepreneurs – May 2, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – Two black men arrested for sitting at a Philadelphia Starbucks without ordering anything settled with the city Wednesday for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.

The men’s lawyer and Mayor Jim Kenney outlined the agreement to The Associated Press.

WATCH: 2 black men arrested for not purchasing anything at Starbucks in Philadelphia

Click to play video: '2 black men arrested for not purchasing anything at Starbucks in Philadelphia'
2 black men arrested for not purchasing anything at Starbucks in Philadelphia

“I am pleased to have resolved the potential claims against the city in this productive manner,” Kenney said. “This was an incident that evoked a lot of pain in our city and put us under a national spotlight for unwanted reasons.”

Story continues below advertisement

READ MORE: 2 black men in Starbucks only minutes before cops called, said they feared for their lives

Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.

The arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson on April 12 touched off a furor around the U.S. over racial profiling. They were led away in handcuffs after the manager called police, saying the men refused to buy anything or leave. After spending hours in jail, they were released and no charges were filed.

 

The men said they were waiting at the coffee shop in the city’s well-to-do Rittenhouse Square neighbourhood for a business meeting with a third man about a potential real estate opportunity.

WATCH: Audio released from Philadelphia Starbucks incident of 911 call, police dispatch and officer transmissions

Click to play video: 'Audio released from Philadelphia Starbucks incident of 911 call, police dispatch and officer transmissions'
Audio released from Philadelphia Starbucks incident of 911 call, police dispatch and officer transmissions

The mayor said Nelson and Robinson approached the city about working together to “make something positive come of this.” The entrepreneur program will be for Philadelphia public high school students.

Story continues below advertisement

READ MORE: Starbucks incident blamed on ‘unconscious bias’ — what is it and how do we curb it?

 

“We thought long and hard about it and we feel like this is the best way to see that change that we want to see,” Robinson said. “It’s not a right-now thing that’s good for right now, but I feel like we will see the true change over time.”

WATCH: Philadelphia police chief apologizes to black men arrested inside Starbucks shop

Click to play video: 'Starbucks arrest: Philly police chief apologizes to men at centre of controversy'
Starbucks arrest: Philly police chief apologizes to men at centre of controversy

 

During the uproar, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson came to Philadelphia to apologize to the men. He also announced that more than 8,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S. would close on the afternoon of May 29 so nearly 175,000 employees can get training in unconscious bias.

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices