Zioness President Amanda Berman and Secretary Chloe Valdary made the following statement:
The Zioness Movement is shocked and disturbed by Starbucks’ decision to drop the ADL – Anti-Defamation League from leading its upcoming anti-bias training. With this decision, Starbucks has capitulated to calls by individuals who have repeatedly endorsed anti-Semitic views. What a painful irony that, in their attempt to combat racial stereotyping, Starbucks has given in to purveyors of other hatreds.
Tamika D Mallory and Linda Sarsour have no authority lecturing anyone – especially one of America’s largest and most influential corporations – on bigotry. Their longstanding adoration of Minister Louis Farrakhan (who has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an unabashed anti-Semite and who preaches hate against the LGBTQ community) should disqualify them from directing any national discourse on discrimination.
As inclusive progressives committed to civil rights and social justice for all people, we are alarmed that the decision-making of a corporate and community leader like Starbucks could be influenced by homophobe-admiring activists who traffic in the worst kinds of anti-Semitic imagery. The ADL has been on the front lines of civil rights advocacy and anti-bias work for more than a hundred years and is uniquely qualified to provide trainings on white supremacy, implicit bias and divisive stereotyping, helping to build stronger, more open and welcoming communities.
We call on Starbucks to stand up to hatred and bigotry, and reinstate the ADL as a leading partner in this necessary conversation.