Starbucks is sticking with its race-relations effort even after the coffee chain faced a backlash on social media last week.

Chief executive officer Howard Schultz said in an open letter to employees yesterday that Starbucks was ending one part of its programme – having baristas write “Race Together” on customers’ cups – but planned additional activities for the coming months.

These include employee forums, dialogue with police and community leaders and a commitment to expanding stores to urban communities.

“While there has been criticism of the initiative – and I know this hasn’t been easy for any of you – let me assure you that we didn’t expect universal praise,” Schultz wrote in the letter. Starbucks announced the Race Together initiative on March 16th to “stimulate conversation, compassion and action around race in America”.

Racial tensions flared last year after police killed two unarmed black men – Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York – with no charges brought against the officers.

Starbucks asked baristas in St Louis, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York to write “Race Together” on customers’ cups, a move intended to spread across the US.

The initiative generated mockery and criticism on Twitter on Tuesday, prompting communications executive Corey duBrowa to delete his Twitter account temporarily. – (Bloomberg)