Racism

Racism in the coffee industry can manifest in various ways, from overt displays to biased treatment of customers.

Racism is a spectrum and systemic. It shows up as:
 * Giving a more robust interview to a Black woman, because she's not your perceived expectation of what a barista looks like
 * Assuming a Black person at an industry event is a producer
 * In company marketing materials, showing only white hands making coffee
 * Falling into stereotypes: saying that a Latinx woman is just being feisty when she has a legitimate complaint
 * Using race as a punchline in a joke and when criticized, brushing it off as "just a joke"

Examples of racial microaggressions include:
 * Customer questioning ethnicity of barista
 * Manager asking Black employee what it feels like to be Black in the industry (see also: Tokenism)

Articles

 * The Black Cup of Excellence: Being Black in Specialty Coffee


 * Questions Of Race In Coffee With Phyllis Johnson Of BD Imports
 * The White Lies of Craft Culture
 * Global Capitalism Organizing Knowledge of Race, Gender and Class: The Case of Socially Responsible Coffee (academic study)

Incidents

 * Two black men arrested at Starbucks for "trespassing"
 * Roasters Guild Retreat 2017: Statement