by Target has pulled an educational magnetic collection that misidentified three Black leaders from its stores after a high school history teacher called attention to the errors in a TikTok video.
In it videoTeacher Tierra Espy said she purchased the “Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Activity,” a tin box with 26 magnets and flashcards featuring illustrations of black leaders and slogans from the civil rights movement, for Black History Month. , which is celebrated in the United States in February.
“I noticed some discrepancies, as soon as I opened this,” he said in the video, noting that a magnet labeled Carter G. Woodson, a scholar of African-American history, actually depicted WEB DuBois, the sociologist and author of “The souls of black people.”
“Look at the mustache,” he said, referring to a photo of DuBois on the Internet with the same mustache as the figure on the magnet mislabeled as Woodson. “They got the name wrong.”
He also pointed out a magnet that was mislabeled as DuBois. It actually featured Booker T. Washington, the business leader and founding president of the university that became Tuskegee University. Similarly, a magnet labeled Washington actually represented Woodson, he said.
Espy said the attached cards also misidentified Woodson, DuBois and Washington.
“I understand, mistakes happen, but this needs to be corrected as soon as possible,” Espy said in the video.
In an interview Saturday, Espy, 26, who teaches 11th-grade U.S. history at Cheyenne Middle School in north Las Vegas, said he bought the can of magnets for his children, ages 4 and 6. , as an educational tool for blacks. History Month.
Espy said he was alarmed to discover the errors.
“I got angry because I thought, how does this reach so many people, on so many levels, and they sell it in stores, and I caught it in 10 seconds?” she said. “Wow, this is not right.”
Bendon Publishingwhich makes sticker books, dress-up dolls and other magnet kits, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but on Saturday, the magnet kit was not listed among its titles on the company’s website or page. Amazon.
Target said in a statement that it would no longer sell the kit online or in its stores, and that it had “made sure the product’s publisher is aware of the errors.”
Black scholars began a project to share and celebrate Black history in the early 20th century after Reconstruction.
Black History Month began as Black History and Literature Week, spearheaded by Dr. Woodson, known as the “father of black history,” in 1924. It was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
