April 17, 2018



Mr. Kevin Johnson
CEO
Starbucks Coffee Company
2401 Utah Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98134

Dear Mr. Johnson:

Mike Snider and Ziati Meyer’s article, “Furor builds over alleged racial profiling at Starbucks,” USA Today, April 17, 2018 at B1 is of great national interest. My own life is an “open book.” I never saw a racially-motivated incident that failed to get my attention. The Malcolm X law started in 1964 in New York. My public record should speak for itself.

Although the disciplining of attorneys is rooted in secrecy, I am the only attorney in New York’s history who has refused to participate in a secret, disciplinary hearing. A closed hearing would mean a sealed transcript. On the other hand, an open hearing would mean that the transcripts should be made available for public inspection. A certified transcript speaks for itself.

Throughout my years of practicing law, I have never been able to convince Blacks and Latinos, in any case, to establish a war chest for the defense of children, the poor and unpopular defendants. No other lawyers in the United States, including the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League, have had to litigate more pro bono cases.

Lawyers have an ethical obligation to defend the despised, the poor and unpopular defendants from accusatory instruments from zealous and competent prosecutors. Two cases of great interest to me are Mumia Abu-Jamal and Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. These men were “freedom fighters.” No one should be imprisoned for fighting oppression.

Starbucks alone will be unable to resolve the problems of capitalism and the short-changing of Blacks and Latinos. The problem started in Africa. A defining moment was after the Civil War. This is a problem of the Fortune 500. This problem should have been addressed before the beginning of Reconstruction. See Slaughterhouse Cases, 16 Wall (83 U.S.) 36 (1873).

It would help if someone who has a record of fighting racial profiling would be at the helm, of the Starbucks project, temporarily, to enhance the credibility of Starbucks. On Mother’s Day 1987, the Washington Post featured a magazine article entitled “Mr. Civil Rights in the Courtroom,” which arose after Howard Beach, a pro bono case of racial profiling. You should read it.

You are cordially invited to attend a town hall meeting on this Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Brooklyn Christian Center, 1061 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. New York has a history of hate. There is room for both Starbucks and New York to become partners in addressing racial profiling, which started with the Malcolm X law in 1964. The more the merrier coupled with the Fortune 500, which was the beneficiary of the Civil War. See the policy of not granting patents to descendants of enslaved Africans after Dred Scott.

There must be goals, a timetable, strategy and tactics. Sometime, a particular date summarizes the essence of the campaign like October 3, 2015. I believe that Starbucks must shoot for a historic date. The time is short but I believe that May 1, has a significant meaning. It is “Law Day.” It can be followed by May 19, 2018. May 29, 2018, alone, will not do it.

Pam Africa of MOVE et al., and academics from Georgia should be in the House. Our first step is to get our “freedom fighters” out of prison. This is a necessary, first step. Our history must be corrected. Botanist brought the seeds from Africa to Make America Great! Slaveholders got more than they bargained for. They seized the best minds of Africa.

I have been doing the work for years that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party should have being doing for Blacks and Latinos; that is, providing a political and legal education. Sis Karen Mason of Atlanta, GA has been assigned to restore my website. It is a treasure trove of information. Starbucks must associate with “freedom fighters.” I will be in Brooklyn at 2:00 p.m. on this Saturday.

Very truly yours,

Alton H. Maddox, Jr.
(“Attorney-at-War”)