Sephora to Shut Down Every U.S. Store For Diversity Training

"While it is true that SZA’s experience occurred prior to the launch of the 'We Belong to Something Beautiful' campaign, the campaign was not the result of this tweet," the company said in a statement. "However, it does reinforce why belonging is now more important than ever. Our entire organization is excited to set aside this time to re-commit to building an environment of inclusion. We’ll be discussing what it means to belong, across many different lenses that include, but are not limited to, gender identity, race and ethnicity, age, abilities, and more. This week marks the first step in our journey, and with the goal of ensuring everyone feels welcome in the beauty category, we hope that We Belong to Something Beautiful helps further foster that belief, for the benefit of our clients, for the betterment of the industry and our communities at large.”

Sephora isn't the first major U.S. company to take these sorts of measures after a racial incident. Last year Starbucks closed all of its American stores for a day of racial bias education after a video of two black men being arrested at a Philadelphia location went viral and drew criticism and accusations of racism.

"I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement at the time. “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”

This post has been updated.