Giving Compass' Take:

• Governing Magazine examines the arrests that took place at a Philadelphia Starbucks, in which two black males were arrested and escorted out of the coffee shop while waiting for a friend to arrive.

• Police Commissioner Richard Ross said that the officers did "absolutely nothing wrong" while other activists disagreed and protested outside of the Starbucks the following day. Who shapes these conversations about race?

'• Read about Starbucks' racial bias training implemented after the arrests as 'finding a constructive way to solve this issue'. 

Turns out even a trip to Starbucks can inflame passions over race and policing in America.

The arrest on Thursday of two African American men who were sitting in a Rittenhouse Square Starbucks waiting for an acquaintance to arrive set off a national outcry on social media. A video of the incident taken by a customer went viral over the weekend. Police said the men, who hadn't ordered anything, were arrested after they were asked to leave but refused to do so.

But the bizarre episode at Starbucks resonated. The iconic coffee chain serves millions of people every day, many of whom treat it as a personal office space to make business calls, conduct job interviews, study for exams, and catch up with old friends. Many stay for hours on end, usually after spending just a few bucks.

The incident set off protests Sunday outside the store on 18th and Spruce Streets and talk of boycotts on social media. It also prompted an apology from Starbucks' chief executive.

It wasn't lost on activists that the incident took place in a wealthy neighborhood. For some, that raised questions about who gets to shape national conversations about issues like race. For example, many white people cannot imagine being shot by a police officer -- but they "certainly see themselves in the position of being in Starbucks and waiting upon a friend to make an order," said Paul Hetznecker, a Philadelphia civil rights lawyer.

City Council President Darrell L. Clarke said the "overwhelming support for these men from people across the country indicates that more Americans are aware of persistent structural racism."

Read the full article about controversial Starbucks arrests by Andrew Seidman at Governing magazine