Large corporations that originally tried to cash in on Juneteenth-themed items ahead of the new federal holiday are now walking back their commercialization efforts after backlash on social media.
On Tuesday, Walmart said it would remove its store-brand ice cream celebrating Juneteenth, amid growing condemnation of the retailer trivializing the day for profit.
The company said that the Juneteenth holiday was a celebration of freedom and independence. We received feedback that a few things caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize for that. We will remove items as appropriate and we are reviewing our assortment. Juneteenth commemorates the day June 19,1865 when enslaved African-Americans returned to Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 to find out they were freed. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a law that made Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Experts said that the marketing Juneteenth-branded products amounts to companies that only profit from Black suffering - specifically the 400 years of slavery that led to systemic disadvantages that persist today.
Matthew Delmont, historian at Dartmouth University, told Yahoo Finance that it is hard to believe that Juneteenth will be watered down or distorted now that it is a federal holiday. Every year, having this date on the national calendar gives people the chance to talk honestly about our nation's history and to come together to celebrate the generations of Black Americans who have fought for freedom and equality. Kevin Cokley, chair of the educational psychology department at the University of Texas, told Yahoo Finance: If Walmart did not think the commercialization of Juneteenth would not be profitable, they would not have created Juneteenth ice cream. Cokley said that the true meaning of Juneteenth can easily be lost through consumerism and widespread consumption. As of Friday, Walmart continued selling several Juneteenth-themed books, party supplies and t-shirts, including one black tank-top with the phrase: Because my ancestors weren't free in 1976, an apparent mistaken reference to the year of American independence in 1776.
For more than 150 years, Juneteenth has been celebrated without needing special brand products, according to Delmont. Attempts to profit from the holiday take attention away from the meaning of Juneteenth, because you don't need to buy things to celebrate emancipation or the long road to freedom that followed. Dollar Tree, the discount variety store, was hit with backlash for promoting a Juneteenth-inspired line of party supplies and tableware that were the Pan-African colors of green, red, and yellow instead of Juneteenth official colors of blue, white, and red.
Dollar Tree did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Yahoo Finance. The commoditization of American holidays is a common occurrence.
William Darity, a public policy professor at Duke University and racial equity expert, told Yahoo Finance that signal events are subject to potential commercialization once a national holiday is declared.
Darity said that the national acknowledgement of Juneteenth may take away from the need for a comprehensive national program for Black American reparations. Imagine how different the landscape would look if Juneteenth had been designated as a federal holiday after reparations had been paid, he said.
Marquise Francis is a National Reporter Anchor with Yahoo Finance.