On the first day of Black History Month, Target pulled a Civil Rights magnetic learning activity kit from its shelves. The kit misidentified three historical Black figures including Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington.
Tierra Espy, a high school teacher from Las Vegas, brought attention to the kits’ falsities in a TikTok video published on Jan. 30. Espy, who had bought the kit for her children of ages 4 and 6, collected over 1.7 million views on her video where she urges, “…these need to be pulled off the shelves, like, immediately… I get it, mistakes happen, but this needs to be corrected ASAP.”
Following Espy’s video and the backlash, Target released a statement on Feb. 1 saying, “We will no longer be selling this product in stores or online. We’ve also ensured the product’s publisher is aware of the errors.”
While the kit was taken off the market, some continue to find errors with Target’s annual Black Beyond Measure campaign it was released with. Intended to celebrate Black History Month, Target’s campaign has been marked as problematic because of its perpetuation of stereotypes.
A user tweeted, “Target’s black history month collection has me weak. I blame y’all.” Included in the tweet are several images of shirts with slogans such as “Racism tried to steal my joy. Ha! Tried” and “Err thng blk.” These clothing items sparked debate in the tweets comment section.
One shirt in particular reads “Eat Your Greens.” X users responded in upset to this shirt. One person wrote “You can spotlight black people without pointing out our pain, suffering and stereotypes.”
Others have defended Target’s Black History campaign as an opportunity to draw attention to the creative talent of Black-owned brands such as Honey Pot feminine products and Lip Bar cosmetics.
Target is one of many brands attempting to highlight Black History Month. Moving forward, however, Ezinne Kwubiri, H&M’s head of inclusion and diversity for North America, encourages companies to “not make this about one month of recognition” and incorporate Black owned businesses or Black-empowering merchandise year round. Adriana Waterston, senior vice president of insights and strategy for Horowitz Research, echoes Kwuibiri advice saying “Especially in today’s racially polarized environment, showing up and supporting one community speaks volumes. If you are only showing up once a year, black consumers will easily see through this and consider you disingenuous.”