George Floyd killing has Starbucks, JPMorgan, AT&T addressing racial injustice

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson reaches out to employees after George Floyd's death

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson reached out to employee partners over the weekend as tensions escalated across the nation over George Floyd's death and other "racial injustices," he said in a memo.

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"We called for a partner forum for any Starbucks partners who felt compelled to join a conversation about the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and the many other racial injustices that have shaken the entire country and each one of us," Johnson wrote noting that two thousand partners participated, some with family members, for a conversation about the challenges facing society.

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"As we all deal with our personal feelings and experiences through this, there are important questions in front of us. How can we help each other heal, and how can we contribute to society in a positive and constructive way on the topic of racism and injustice?" he asked.

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The forum coincided with violent protests in multiple cities that destroyed Target, CVS and Verizon stores among many others, including a Starbucks in Philadelphia. The city was the location of a racial profiling incident in 2018 in which two African-American men were wrongfully arrested inside a coffee shop.

Johnson took decisive action following that event, apologizing and creating company-wide racial bias training.

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A Starbucks location in Seattle was also broken into and looted Saturday.

The events of late have prompted employee outreach by many CEOs, including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, who along with Brian Lamb, the company's global head of diversity and inclusion, wrote to employees on Friday.

"We are watching, listening and want every single one of you to know we are committed to fighting against racism and discrimination wherever and however it exists," said Dimon and Lamb, in a memo obtained by FOX Business.

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An Atlanta AT&T store on Lenox Road, NBC affiliate WXIA reported, was also vandalized.

"We believe in equality for all, mourn this tragedy we are facing as a country, and respect the right for peaceful protests," the company said in a statement emailed to FOX Business. "However, vandalism in our communities is not the solution."

FOX Business' Ann Schmidt contributed to this report.