Walmart Canada is facing a huge backlash online after a shopper pointed out that the company is selling an “All Lives Matter” T-shirt through their website.
The shirt is black and reads in large red and white lettering on the front “All Lives Matter.”
While the phrase is seemingly innocuous, it is often used as a rejoinder to “Black Lives Matter” activists in a way that suggests there is no need for special attention to the Black experience.
The phrase has also been used to misinterpret the message of “Black Lives Matter” to mean that only Black lives matter.
The group’s name is in fact meant to draw attention to the fact that Black people are treated with less dignity and respect than their white neighbours in many contexts.
Especially since the brutal police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, there has been a growing recognition of systemic anti-Black racism by governments and corporations.
Walmart Canada’s parent company in fact issued a statement earlier this month saying that it is taking steps to address racism “head-on.”
“We know it takes more than talk. It takes action. We are taking steps to address racism head-on and accelerate change, including Walmart and the Walmart Foundation committing $100 million over five years so we can move forward, together,” Walmart said in a Twitter post on June 5.
In an email to CP24.com Monday evening Walmart Canada said they are reviewing the item.
“At Walmart Canada, we stand against any form of racism or discrimination,” the company said in its statement. “We promote listening, seeking to understand and embracing individual differences. Today, our third-party marketplace has a number of items with variations on the phrase ‘lives matter’. We will continue to review those items to ensure compliance with our terms and conditions.”
The company also responded to a number of angry tweets by saying “This item is sold and shipped by a third party seller and is currently being looked into.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the shirt was still available through the company’s website, sold by a third-party seller called “Old Glory” that also offers thousands of other items, many with non-offensive messages and images.
The company faced a barrage of angry tweets Tuesday, calling the item “disappointing” and accusing Walmart of paying lip service to equality while making money from items that oppose the cause.
“I am disappointed that there are not measures put in place to prohibit offensive items sold in your "marketplace," one user wrote. “It is quite disingenuous to advocate and support Black Lives Matter meanwhile this is being sold on walmart.ca.”
Other users called it “disgusting” and “beyond tone deaf.”
