There has been massive uproar on social media recently as Target comes under fire for a Halloween costume many social media users deemed extremely inappropriate and racist.
The company has admitted its mistake and is outlining next steps. Keep reading to learn more.
People on social media noticed a costume being sold on Target’s website, which they deemed incredibly inappropriate. In the picture for the costume, a child is wearing an orange and black checkered print outfit, with a frilled collar invoking the image of a clown or jester.
The costume is paired with a small, round-brimmed hat and a mask that covers the lower half of the face and features an exaggerated smile. The child used to advertise the Halloween costume was black and was made to pose with their right leg extended back and slightly bent down from the waist. Their hands were posed as if they were about to do an exaggerated run. One of their arms is raised beside their head with the palm facing outward in a wave, while the other arm hangs out to the side with the hand open.
People plastered the image on social media, side-by-side with a depiction of an offensive ‘minstrel’ like image from the past. In the last few years, there has been a lot of conversation about race, especially regarding the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which highlights the racism faced by the black community in the US and beyond merely because of their race.
Minstrel shows and blackface imagery have a deeply harmful history in the United States. Dating back to the 19th century, white performers would darken their faces and portray Black people through exaggerated, racist stereotypes, presenting them as lazy, unintelligent, violent, or comical. These images helped normalize dehumanizing ideas about Black Americans and were used to justify discrimination and inequality.
The company immediately took notice and removed the costume from their website. They also issued an apology, acknowledging that the costume was hurtful for their black guests, team members, and partners.
“As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” Target said in a statement. It went on, “The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners. Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”
However, social media users were far from moved by the company’s apology.
One person wrote, “They knew exactly what they were doing. Keep them on the canceled list yall.” While another added, “first you remove black brands from your stores, then you have a mess black history month collection, now a racist CARICATURE? oh absolutely not”
Another X user had some advice for the company, they wrote, “clearly they need to start with hiring a lot more black people in creative positions.”
There seem to be a lot of opinions about the company’s mistake on social media. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments section on Facebook.
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