Men Arrested at Starbucks Settle With Philadelphia for $1

The two men arrested for sitting at a Philadelphia Starbucks without ordering last month settled with the city for a “symbolic $1 each” and a promise that officials would establish a “$200,000 program for young entrepreneurs,” according to the Associated Press. “We thought long and hard about it and we feel like this is the best way to see that change that we want to see,” Donte Robinson, one of the arrested men, told the AP. “It’s not a right-now thing that’s good for right now, but I feel like we will see the true change over time.” The program will serve students at Philadelphia public high schools. Robinson and Rashon Nelson, whose arrest records will be expunged as part of the deal, were arrested in a Starbucks on April 12th after the manager called authorities when they refused to leave. Both men were waiting for a friend to arrive before ordering anything. Their arrests prompted protests inside the store—and Starbucks closed its shops down on the afternoon of May 29th to host a “racial-bias” training for workers.