Walmart pulls ‘Juneteenth ice cream’ from shelves, issues apology after backlash

Photo: Borgposting via Twitter

Walmart has officially started pulling its Juneteenth ice cream from shelves after the company received online backlash for commercializing a holiday meant to commemorate the end of American slavery.

The swirled red velvet and cheesecake ice cream was being sold in stores nationwide.

“Share and celebrate African American culture, emancipation and enduring hope,” the label read.

However, the product quickly drew online condemnations from people who accused the retailer of making the solemn holiday a money-making vehicle.

“Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” Walmart said in a statement. “However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize.”

Despite pulling the ice cream from shelves, Walmart’s website as of publication time still offers a wide array of Juneteenth products.

Juneteenth marks the anniversary of freedom for slaves in Texas after the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in states that seceded during the war, however, it was mostly unenforced and many slave-owners fled to Texas to continue the practice until June 19, 1865, when the Union army took control of Texas and outlawed 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. “This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and enslaved people, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”

Six months later, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution permanently banned slavery in the U.S., on June 19, 1866. In 2021, Congress passed legislation to make it a national holiday.