A Black woman and a white woman went viral fighting racism. Then they stopped speaking to each other
Few know the names Michelle Saahene or Melissa DePino. But millions have heard the beginning of their story.
They were witnesses at a Philadelphia Starbucks five years ago when two Black businessmen asked to use the restroom and a white barista called police, who led the men away in handcuffs.
"They didn't do anything!" Saahene shouted as another customer recorded the confrontation.
Saahene and DePino didn't know each other. But in their shock and anger, the two women started talking, and after DePino got a copy of the video, she conferred with Saahene before tweeting it out.
The tweet triggered a public relations disaster for Starbucks and a national uproar, raising questions about racism, policing and public safety.
It also launched lucrative new careers for both women, who teamed up to promote awareness about racism and started a nonprofit that provided sensitivity talks to corporations just as the diversity, equity and inclusion industry was about to take off.
What they could not anticipate was how their joint venture would go awry — or how they themselves would become a potent illustration of the racial animosity and misunderstanding they had set out to combat.
"This is what happens when white women insert themselves into what should be Black-led organizations," Saahene, who is Black and 36, said recently. "White supremacy and emotional abuse get masked under kindness."
"This is what it looks like to be canceled," said DePino, who is white and 55. "I'm not really sure what I did wrong."
'Racism on display'
Within days of the April 12, 2018, arrest, the video had been played 8 million times. In interviews with CNN and other outlets, DePino accused Starbucks of racism.
By April 14, the company's CEO issued a to the men, who were never charged with a crime. Two days later, the corporation vowed to close every company-owned U.S. store for an afternoon of . Now many coffee shops, including Starbucks, let anyone use their restrooms with no questions asked.
