Juneteenth ice cream

Critics accused the retail giant of commercializing a solemn holiday meant to commemorate the end of American slavery.

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved people are free,” Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger wrote in General Order No. 3. “Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” Walmart’s statement said. Now you can celebrate with this ice cream.”

Walmart's blurb on the ice cream container, which had also appeared to trademark Juneteenth, said, "share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation ...

We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate." Walmart was criticized on social media for its insensitivity toward the holiday. Some people on social media noted the ice cream – a swirled red velvet cheesecake flavor – is similar to a flavor from a Black-owned and Cincinnati-based ice cream company Creamalicious, which sells its Right as Rain Red Velvet Cheesecake flavor in Walmart stores.

The line also includes Juneteenth partyware and a drink koozie reading "It's the freedom for me"

It’s the “doing the work” for me. According to Bloomberg, “Black and African-American recruits made up 28 percent of all new hires in the U.S. [in 2020-21], but accounted for 13 percent of promotions from hourly to management roles, according to the company’s latest diversity report.” Walmart is alleged to have discriminated againstits Blackemployees, racially profiled Black customers(Walmart apologized for at least one such incident) and declined to disclosewhether employees of color are categorically paid lessthan white employees or overrepresented in lower-wage, part-time positions. Walmart has a long history of labor exploitations, which include paying sub-living wages (in 2021, it raised its minimum wage to $12 per hour). In early 2020, it rolled out a restructuring program that, while touted for creating more full-time positions, was criticized for eliminating roles and simultaneously creating overwhelming workloads for remaining employees. Among the many ironies of Walmart attempting to profit off Juneteenth is the product line’s Pan-Africanist color scheme. It has become increasingly visible in recent protests against the police murder of Black civilians.

The flavor was part of Walmart's special edition commemorating June 19, the newest federal holiday, which recognizes the official end of slavery and the ...

“Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” the statement read. The retail chain also sells Juneteenth-themed clothing and plates. Kelly, among others online, also expressed her concern over the trademark symbol next to the word Juneteenth on Walmart’s product label. Among those who expressed their concerns was Gwen Kelly of Chicago, who first saw images of the Juneteenth ice cream circulating on her Twitter feed Sunday night. In a LinkedIn post this week, she questioned whether the diversity executives or Walmart’s corporate Black associate resource groups were involved in the decision-making process. Many criticized the gesture as a form of cultural appropriation.

Walmart has officially started pulling its Juneteenth ice cream from shelves after the company received online backlash for...

In 2021, Congress passed legislation to make it a national holiday. “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved people are free,” Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger wrote in General Order No. 3. “However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize.”

Critics described the ice cream as a "problematic" attempt to cash in on the holiday commemorating the end of U.S. slavery.

Bridge, a company focused on improving diversity and inclusion in businesses, issued an open letter to Walmart executives on May 23 urging Walmart to pull the Great Value brand ice cream flavor from its shelves. Juneteenth became the nation's 12th federal holiday in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed a law to mark June 19th as the holiday. That came more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which granted freedom to all slaves in the Confederate states.