When we saw the headline in the New York Times—“Howard Schultz to Step Down as Starbucks Executive Chairman”—we mistakenly assumed Schultz’s decision to retire had something to do with the recent ruckus over racism. In mid-April, remember, a Starbucks franchise in Philadelphia was accused of racial bias when its manager asked the police to remove two black men for loitering. The coffee mega-chain, in a preposterous act of penance for one store manager’s pardonable overreaction, announced that its 175,000 employees at 8,000 locations would undergo a four-hour course in “unconscious racial bias.” It was Schultz, too, as we mentioned in this space last month, who announced the company’s new egalitarian bathroom policy, which had to be “clarified” by the company’s communications arm because customers had drawn the conclusion that Starbucks bathrooms would soon become hovels for drug-pushers and hobos.
But no, Schultz had in fact planned to step down for at least a year, and the unpleasantness in Philadelphia only delayed the announcement. Why is he retiring, then? According to the New York Times, he may be running for president. “He is frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the Democratic Party and has become increasingly vocal on political issues.”
Lest you think the Times is simply repeating a rumor, consider Schultz’s response to a question about a presidential run. “One of the things I want to do in my next chapter is to figure out if there is a role I can play in giving back. I’m not exactly sure what that means yet.”
Yep. He’s running.
We don’t doubt Schultz’s capabilities. If he can persuade half the country to pay four or five bucks for a flavored coffee, he’s not an untalented man. But we’re not sure if the country is ready for a four-year course in unconscious racial bias.
