Unfortunately, we doubt a venti iced latte would help to quell the tension.
A cringeworthy moment ensued on Tuesday's All In With Chris Hayes when CBS Sunday Morning's Nancy Giles and culture commentator and DJ Jay Smooth were discussing race relations in context with the rampant criticism over Starbucks' #RaceTogether campaign.
The two made a number of valid points during their discussion (Smooth said Howard Schultz's "intensions seem noble" but is concerned whether the tough topic "can be addressed by having chats in coffee shops") but it was about five minutes into their chat when things got really awkward after an accidental stereotype was tossed around, perfectly illustrating the problems that can arise while discussing race.
After host Chris Hayes played a portion of Smooth's YouTube lecture, "How to Tell Someone They Sound Racist," Giles, in good-hearted nature, poked fun at the DJ. "I can't not tease Jay about the brotha way he was trying to talk with the rap music in the background," she said.
"Well, I'm a rap guy," the DJ replied.
"Yeah, I know, but it's another interesting, funny thing about race. Like, there would be some people that would feel that you co-opted something like that, and other people might feel like that's his background and that's really cool, too," Giles said. "These are conversations, you know, ‘Yo, like, ya know, yeah, if somebody takes my wallet,' I mean, it's really interesting."
Cue facepalm...
"It's also interesting because I'm actually black, but you assumed otherwise," Smooth said in response to Giles suggestion that he is appropriating black culture. "And this is the sort of awkwardness that we can look forward to at Starbucks across America."
Touché.
ICYMI, a new video to help prepare you for your next visit to Starbucks http://t.co/TFBM276JNz
? jay smooth (@jsmooth995) March 17, 2015