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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPhilly.com: Black men arrested at Philadelphia Starbucks reach agreement with city
Updated: May 2, 2018 1:34 PM EDT
AP Photo / Jacqueline Larma
Rashon Nelson, left, and Donte Robinson, right, both 23, sit in their attorneys conference room after an April 18 interview with the Associated Press.
by Michael Boren, Staff Writer @borenmc | mboren@phillynews.com
Two black men arrested for sitting at a Philadelphia Starbucks without ordering anything settled with the city for a symbolic $1 each Wednesday and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.
Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson have decided not to pursue a lawsuit against the city, city spokesman Mike Dunn said. Instead, they approached the city and agreed to release the city and its employees from any and all claims for a payment of $1 to each of them.
Nelson and Robinson also asked the city to create a program for Philadelphia public high school students with aspirations of becoming entrepreneurs. The city has agreed to fund a $200,000 grant for that program, Dunn said. Nelson and Robinson will not receive any of that money, he said.
Mayor Kenney lauded the program, saying pain from the incident would have resurfaced over and over again had litigation unfolded. Rather than spending time, money, and resources to engage in a potentially adversarial process, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson approached the city and invited us to partner with them in an attempt to make something positive come of this, Kenney said in a statement. This agreement is the result of those conversations, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of this effort in the coming months and years.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/starbucks-arrest-black-men-settle-philadelphia-rashon-nelson-donte-robinson-20180502.html
procon
(15,805 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)coupled with some real soul-searching within the police department, will make a difference. This particular police district is #1 on the list for the stop and frisk mess that is still in place and our City Council is demanding that the mayor end it once and for all.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,494 posts)It's very admirable of these guys to settle in this fashion and we hope it pays off in the long-term!
......
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)as the city's Human Relations Commission is still investigating as far as I have heard too. There are a whole bunch of things that should be recommendations for moving forward and this is just one.
The 2 are aware that change will take time -
"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," Robinson said. "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."
https://6abc.cm/2jpFvwK
but I think that the city has been put on notice by the public.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)I'm so impressed by these young men - and I hope the city realizes how easy they got off this time and doesn't think it means they can continue business as usual. The next black men they f#ck with might not be so kind and willing to let them off the hook.
Demsrule86
(68,667 posts)program to finish school...and talk to Holder about diversity...he must be advising Starbucks. I am pleased about this
peabody
(445 posts)These guys turned an ugly event into one that will help others.
lame54
(35,321 posts)EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)These guys are awesome.
Although part of me is a little frustrated by this - since we always seem to be expected to take the high road, do the forgiving, prove we're not in anything for the money, "make something positive come of this,"etc., etc - and that part of me wishes they'd taken Starbucks and the City for everything they're worth.
But that said, I'm proud of them.
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)but I think they see that so many have their backs too.
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)Well done, gentlemen
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)May 2, 2018 at 2:50 pm
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) Starbucks has made a financial deal with two black men arrested for sitting at a Philadelphia store without ordering anything. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This comes on the same day the men settled with the city for a symbolic $1 each Wednesday and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.
The mens lawyer and Mayor Jim Kenney outlined the agreement to The Associated Press.
<...>
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/05/02/black-men-arrested-at-philadelphia-starbucks-settle-for-symbolic-1-each-200k-program-for-young-entrepreneurs/
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)they did what they did with the city.
irisblue
(33,023 posts)MagickMuffin
(15,952 posts)Fingerprints and the whole 9 yards.
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)That is something that gets folks time and time again.
MagickMuffin
(15,952 posts)That's why I hope they demanded to have those records destroyed while they watch them do it.
Never trust the LEO to do the right thing, especially concerning POC.
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)since the city controls the PD. But I will be following any news on the PD's own internal investigation as well as what the Human Relations Commission comes up with.
MagickMuffin
(15,952 posts)Perhaps if anyone here knows them they can make certain that their arrest records were destroyed.
They certainly didn't deserve to be arrested in the first place, and therefore no need for those arrests records existing.
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)but believe it or not, they remind me exactly like one of my nephews who is the same age as them.
BUT - I just found this article (from the American Bar Association Journal) -
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Posted May 2, 2018, 1:09 pm CDT
Two black men arrested last month at a Starbucks in Philadelphia while waiting for a business associate have agreed to release the city from any legal claims in exchange for the payment of $1 each and a promise to donate $200,000 to a program for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The agreement between the city, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson was announced Wednesday, report the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Associated Press. Their arrest records will also be expunged.
Nelson and Robinson, both 23, were arrested April 12 at the Starbucks after a manager complained that they had not ordered anything.
City spokesman Mike Dunn said the men wanted the city to create the entrepreneurship program for Philadelphia public high school students. They agreed to the deal without filing a lawsuit.
Nelson and Robinson told the AP they wanted to see something positive come out of their arrest. Nelson said he considers the incident a case of being at the wrong place at the right time because of the outcome that can come out of it.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/black_men_arrested_at_starbucks_settle_with_philadelphia_for_1_each_and_200
So their records will be expunged!
MagickMuffin
(15,952 posts)I just don't necessarily believe them to do this without outside observers!
But if this does happen then my best to the two gentlemen Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson for making a difference in their community.
WTO
BumRushDaShow
(129,455 posts)I expect that city is jumping for joy because as I have noted in previous posts on this subject, it's MY taxpayer money that keeps getting spent to settle stupid and racist decisions by an out-of-control police department rather than for something like the agreement that the 2 reached with the city to help high school students to learn how to do a start-up or other entrepreneurial endeavor. It's the type of thing that the federal Small Business Administration is supposed to do but they have pretty much been gutted and neutered.