Las Vegas, Nevada – Target announced that it will discontinue the sale of a product featuring Civil Rights icons in response to a viral TikTok video that highlighted significant errors in the product. The video, posted by high school teacher Tierra Espy, revealed the misidentification of Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois, and Booker T. Washington in the magnetic learning activity.
Espy, also known as @issatete on TikTok, expressed the need to pull the product off the shelves immediately, emphasizing her background in teaching U.S. History as the basis for her concerns. After purchasing the “Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Activity” and discovering the errors, she promptly shared her findings online.
Target confirmed its decision to halt sales of the product, stating that it will no longer be available in stores or online. The retailer also informed the product’s publisher of the errors. Although Target did not specify how long the product had been on sale or provide a timeline for its removal, the decision coincides with the start of Black History Month, during which Target and other retailers celebrate Black history.
The mislabeled magnetic activity carried a Bendon manufacturing label, prompting inquiries to the Ohio-based children’s publisher, who did not immediately respond to requests for comments. As of Friday, neither Target nor Bendon had reached out to Espy, who welcomed the product’s removal from shelves but expressed disappointment over the absence of an apology from the companies.
Espy emphasized the importance of reviewing products before making them available to consumers, citing the availability of resources such as Google to prevent harmful errors. Furthermore, she expressed appreciation for the support from fellow TikTok users in ensuring that the errors did not go unnoticed.
The incident serves as a reminder of the significance of history, with Espy echoing the sentiment that history matters. The swift response to the mislabeled product underscores the impact of social media in holding companies accountable for their products and ensuring the accuracy of historical representations.