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Home • News

Two Black Men Were Arrested For #WaitingWhileBlack At A Philadelphia Starbucks

Two Black Men Were Arrested For #WaitingWhileBlack At A Philadelphia Starbucks
NurPhoto/Getty Images
By Paula Rogo · Updated October 24, 2020

Two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks for sitting without buying a drink as they waited for a friend.

A video of their arrest has gone viral with over 2 million views on Twitter. The two men can be seen being escorted out of the venue by six police officers.

“The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything,” tweeted author Melissa DePino. “They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing.”

https://twitter.com/missydepino/status/984539713016094721

In a second video posted on YouTube, the police officers can be seen confronting the very calm black men. When a white bystander asked why they were being arrested, he was told that the two men were being arrested for “trespassing.”

“They didn’t do anything, I saw the entire thing,” a person off-camera said.

The video, which has caused an uproar on social media, has also prompted an internal investigation within the Philadelphia Police Department.

We are aware of an incident that occurred on 4-12-18 at the Starbucks Café at 18th and Spruce. The entire incident, including the actions of the responding officers, is under internal investigation. Once we gather all the facts, we will comment further.

— Philadelphia Police Department (@PhillyPolice) April 14, 2018

Starbucks also confirmed that it is looking into the incident.

“We’re reviewing the incident with our partners, law enforcement and customers to determine what took place and led to this unfortunate result.”

We’re reviewing the incident with our partners, law enforcement and customers to determine what took place and led to this unfortunate result.

— Starbucks (@Starbucks) April 14, 2018

The two men  were eventually released because of lack of evidence, according to Benjamin Waxman, a spokesman for District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office. 

Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts while using the hashtag #WaitingWhileBlack:

https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/985003539633266689

This month I noticed this (possibly homeless) woman sleeping @Starbucks in Bethesda, MD; I chatted with manager about her situation. Good to know she was treated as a human being. She wasn’t arrested. I’m a loyal customer looking for your response to #Waitingwhileblack pic.twitter.com/ZqMCpmngsS

— Deitre Epps (@Deitre_Epps) April 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/AmakaOOrji/status/984941323131203584

Damn Starbucks! Where’s the brotherly love? #WaitingWhileBlack #BePeace https://t.co/uUOLdrf5WP

— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) April 14, 2018

We look forward to the results of the investigation.