2 February 2024
(NEXSTAR) – Target has pulled a Civil Rights-themed product from shelves after a TikTok user pointed out several mistakes concerning the Black leaders depicted within the item.
The product, a children’s activity kit published by Bendon and sold as a “Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Activity,” contained magnets featuring illustrations of prominent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. But three of the leaders depicted on the magnets were misidentified, TikTok user @IssaTete pointed out in a now-viral video.
“I don’t know who is in charge at Target, but these need to be pulled off the shelves, like, immediately,” she said, explaining that she bought the product for her children ahead of Black History Month.
The woman, who identified herself as a U.S. history teacher, said she “noticed some discrepancies” immediately after opening the kit.
She then pointed to three magnets featuring illustrations of W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and Carter G. Woodson and proceeded to point out that each had been misidentified by the kit’s publisher. She also juxtaposed the kit’s illustrations with photos of Du Bois, Washington and Woodson that she pulled up on her computer.
“I get it. Mistakes happen. But this needs to be corrected ASAP,” she said.
The video, which @IssaTete shared earlier this week, has since been viewed over 800,000 times.
“You’re telling me not one person double checked these???” one viewer wrote, echoing similar complaints from dozens of others.
Target has removed the item from sale and informed the publisher of the “errors,” according to a statement from the company. (Getty Images)
Target, in a statement obtained by Nexstar, confirmed that the books have been pulled from sale.
“We will no longer be selling this product in stores or online. We’ve also ensured the product’s publisher is aware of the errors,” a spokesperson for the store wrote in an emailed statement.
A representative at Bendon, an Ohio-based publisher of children’s books and activities, declined to comment on the error when contacted by Nexstar. As of Friday morning, the activity kit was not available on the brand’s website or Amazon page.
TikTok user @IssaTete, in a follow-up video, thanked viewers for helping to spread the message that such errors were unacceptable.
“Like I said, I’m a U.S. history teacher. I was not going to let that slide,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let it slide for my 200 students, and I’m not going to let it slide for my two babies, who I am responsible for teaching.”