WALMART APOLOGIZES FOR RELEASING JUNETEENTH-THEMED ICE CREAM
After an enormous amount of backlash, Walmart pulled its’ Juneteenth ice cream off the shelves. Many took to social media to express their frustrations about inappropriate commercialism.
I would prefer a black owned company profit off Juneteenth ice cream than Walmart of all companies. An internal survey by Walmart found many high-ranking Black employees wouldn’t recommend working there.
— John C. Varner III (@LilHulkQ) May 22, 2022
Btw fuck Walmart for ripping off a black owned brand to capitalize on “Juneteenth” ice cream instead of just stocking the black owned brand who came up with the concept to begin with. #creamalicious
— Chris E. Teigen (@Ctofurr502) May 24, 2022
Nobody asked for some Juneteenth ice cream. Not one person.
— Los PopaVitch (@KarlousM) May 24, 2022
The ice cream comes in a container wrapped in the colors of the Pan-African flag. Its flavor consists of swirled cheesecake and red velvet cake.
“Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation, and enduring hope,” the packaging reads.
Walmart released a statement apologizing for the release of the ice cream and announced that they would be discontinuing the frozen desert.
“Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” Walmart said in a statement. “However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate.”
We live in such a capitalistic economy, so any chance a business can make money, they will take it. However, the most disturbing part is the company that makes the ice cream, Balchem, trademarked “Juneteenth” in 2021—the same year it was made an official federal holiday. Balchem, a white-owned New York-based chemical company, has since abandoned the trademark amongst controversy.
An excellent start for large companies such as Walmart would be to bring diversity to its’ executive table. When you don’t have diversity in executive positions, this is the result. When are companies going to wake up and understand that this is the way you progress?
