Often overlooked in studies of the corporation is the recognition that the modern corporate form and its power are rooted in the issue of race, and more specifically, in racial oppression. The racialized roots of the corporation become exposed when we acknowledge the significance of slavery and the Fourteenth Amendment to the evolution of the corporate form along with the discriminatory role corporations have traditionally played in shaping race relations in the U.S. This article draws upon several theoretical perspectives, primarily critical race theory, management theory, legal studies, diversity management, and corporate social responsibility to introduce the corporate responsibility to race concept and establish it as a new basis for understanding why corporate persons have a responsibility for improving race relations.
In response to a series of race-related incidents in the United States in 2014, Starbucks launched the Race Together Initiative, a multifaceted public relations campaign designed to spark a national dialogue on race. The campaign generated a great deal of discussion in the public sphere including some praise and much criticism. This article uses critical race theory as a theoretical lens to analyze the Race Together campaign as well as reactions to it in the news media and on Twitter. The purpose of this article is to use critical race theory to enrich understandings of the Race Together campaign as well as to explore the implications of corporate public relations campaigns that attempt to address sensitive social issues such as race.
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