According to an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed (opens in new tab), Starbucks management told employees that Black Lives Matter merchandise (buttons, t-shirts, pins, etc.) does not comply with the dress code and that they may not wear such items to work They informed them that they could not. The reason for this is that the chain believes that there are "agitators" who "misunderstand the basic principles" of the BLM movement and that showing support for the organization could provoke violence in the stores.

According to the site, the notice was given after several Starbucks store managers contacted company leadership on behalf of employees who asked if they could come to work wearing BLM pins. The memo states that "partners are not allowed to wear buttons or pins that advocate political, religious, or personal issues," but BuzzFeed reports that "nearly every employee (they) spoke with said the company has been told that employees are not allowed to wear accessories that support marriage equality or LGBTQ rights. They pointed out that the company allows them to wear them and even gives them pins and gay pride shirts because June is Pride Month," he explained. Black partners can wear shirts from Starbucks' Black Partner Network (opens in new tab). The Black Partner Network was created to "continue the conversation around the African Diaspora."

The backlash after BuzzFeed's report was swift, with many on Twitter pointing to Starbucks' history of dealing with racist incidents in its stores (as well as its June 1 and June 4 statements (open in new tab) supporting the movement). At the time of this post, #BoycottStarbucks was trending on Twitter in the US.

The full BuzzFeed report can be read here (opens in new tab).