On April 12, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested inside of a Philadelphia Starbucks for “trespassing” after they had not purchased anything. The two men stated they were waiting for someone for a business meeting. The reason given for the arrest was that the men supposedly refused to leave after attempting to use the restroom before purchasing something.

CNN reported that the 911 call lasted only seconds. The manager said: “Hi, I have two gentlemen at my café that are refusing to make a purchase or leave. I’m at the Starbucks at 18th and Spruce.”

Eye witnesses and other patrons of the café offered their own testimonies when the police showed up. They hadn’t purchased anything themselves and were inside the cafe much longer than Nelson and Robinson. But of course, these people were not black men, and didn’t have the police called on them.

Why were the police called in the first place? I know that many people can attest to waiting somewhere for a friend without making a purchase. Some people go into cafés just to use Wi-Fi, or just to have somewhere to rest.

These men were not making a scene or disturbing anyone else in the store. No one’s life was in danger. No clear cut laws had been broken. I can see only two possible reasons this manager called the police, and it all comes down to obvious racial bias. Either this person was genuinely fearful of these black men or just straight up didn’t want these black people to exist in their store.

For one video like this caught on camera, there are thousands of other instances like this that don’t go viral. Everyday people of color have to walk through the world with a different gaze on us. It happens in the store when you’re followed or stared at to make sure you don’t steal, old white ladies clutching their purses when you walk past, and as we see with Starbucks, just trying to exist inside of a café.

All of these negative associations that white people have of people of color have consequences. The two men that were arrested now have criminal records behind this foolishness with no charges pressed on them.

The incident sparked protests of Starbucks and the Philadelphia Police Department. The police chief had initially stated these officers did nothing wrong, and later back tracked to apologize. He said he was not aware that people “spend long hours in Starbucks and aren’t necessarily expected to make a purchase.” He said he believes the officers weren’t aware of this either.

“I can appreciate, in light of the Starbucks policy, and how well it is known to many, why these two men were appalled when they were asked to leave. For this reason, me, I apologize,” Ross said.

Starbucks, in an attempt to ameliorate these grievances, is going to shut down 8,000 stores for racial-bias education on May 29. Although I can commend the swiftness with Starbucks’ response to this incident and admit that racial bias training won’t hurt, the issue goes a lot further than just the company. This is something much more deeply rooted in American culture and ideology. We need to shut this whole country down for racial bias training. This is going to happen over and over again as long as people have to exist while black, and as long as that blackness is seen as a threat to white people.