Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty
As with many Target trips, Nevada US history teacher Tierra Espy left the store with more items than she intended to buy on Sunday.
She added a magnetic activity book about iconic Civil Rights leaders to her cart, in time for Black History Month, she told CNN in a phone interview. But now, Target is pulling the item off shelves after a viral TikTok in which Espy pointed out inaccuracies such as misidentifying names and pictures of iconic Civil Rights leaders.
The activity book had mixed up the names and images of Carter G. Woodson, a pioneer in the study of African-American history; W.E.B. Du Bois, a sociologist, historian, author and activist; and Booker T. Washington, an educator and intellectual who was the first president of what is now Tuskegee University.
In a statement Friday, Target said it “will no longer be selling this product in stores or online. We’ve also ensured the product’s publisher is aware of the errors.”
Misidentifying Black people and other people of color can play into racist tropes by suggesting non-White people all look alike. The trope has often been used to dehumanize non-White people.
