(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Target, the infamous retailer that saw billions of dollars in losses after a pro-LGBT and satanic controversy, is once again in the spotlight for releasing an offensive book during Black History Month.
A viral TikTok video highlighted Target’s misidentification of three civil rights leaders —W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington and Carter G. Woodson. This misstep led to the prompt withdrawal of the incorrectly manufactured merchandise, the New York Post reported on Friday.
@issatete Idk who needs to correct it but it needs to be pulled off the shelves nontheless. Any person could have missed the mistake but it just takes one person to point it out and ask for corrections #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth #blacktiktok ♬ original sound – Issa tete
TikTok influencer and history teacher Issa Tete first discovered Target selling a book that wrongly labeled Du Bois (the first black man to earn a Harvard Ph.D.) as Woodson (hailed as the “father of black history”).
“This is not Carter G. Woodson—this is W.E.B. Du Bois,” Tete asserted, substantiating her assumptions by comparing the images with Wikipedia photos of Du Bois.
“Peep the ‘stache, they got the name wrong,” she pointed out, drawing attention to Du Bois’s distinctive mustache.
In the book titled “Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Kit” and published by Bendon, Target erroneously placed Du Bois’ name next to Washington, a black scholar, but also placed Washington’s name next to Woodson.
“I went to get my kids this little magnet learning activity book since Black History Month is coming up from Target,” Tete said earlier in the video.
“I don’t know who’s in charge of Target but these need to be pulled off the shelves like immediately. I noticed some discrepancies as soon as I opened this,” she continued.
In the video caption, she emphasized, “Any person could have missed the mistake but it just takes one person to point it out and ask for corrections.”
In remarks to the NY Post, Target acknowledged the errors and swiftly removed the book from shelves. “We’ve also ensured the product’s publisher is aware of the errors,” the retailer added.
This incident follows Target’s controversy last year when it released LGBTQ merchandise for children in support of Gay Pride Month. One of the designers hired by Target for the merchandise was exposed for having previously drawn satanic drawings.
By June 2023, Target had faced a $13 billion loss in value following the backlash, as reported by Bloomberg.
