As part of Starbucks’ efforts to start “renewing Starbucks as a place where all people feel welcome,” the chain closed down 8,000 of its company-operated stores on Tuesday afternoon “for a conversation and learning session on racial bias” with 175,000 of its employees, or “partners,” as Starbucks refers to them.

“Because we want to uplift others, we exist to inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time,” the company wrote of its mission at the start of the Starbucks guidebook provided to partners.

At the start of the session, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson introduced (via video) the topics for the day’s lesson, including a history of discrimination in public spaces as well as a lesson in being “color brave,” the latter of which is explained as a an alternative to being color-blind, wherein a person’s racial identity is not ignored, but rather seen and respected for what it is.