THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF JUNETEENTH
Although the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, is often associated with the liberation of enslaved people in the United States, not all slaves were instantaneously freed. At the time, Texas was considered a safe haven for slavery, and many slaveholders withheld the information from their slaves. It was not until General Granger arrived in Gavelston, Texas in the spring of 1865 that Texas’ 250,000 enslaved people were finally freed. The following year, “Jubilee Day” was celebrated on June 19th, when the 13th Amendment was ratified. Over time, the celebration transformed into Juneteenth.*
The importance of such a holiday to the black community cannot be understated. Thus, it was a momentous day when President Joe Biden made the celebrational a federal holiday in 2021. Admittedly, some within the black community were apprehensive. Conversation swirled regarding what it meant that white people would also have the day off, and many wondered what gave them the right to celebrate such a holiday. Others worried about how soon it would be before companies commercialized the holiday and capitalized on it for their own political and monetary gain.**
A year removed from the signing, the latter concern has fully come to fruition. With Juneteenth on the horizon, Walmart released its Juneteenth collection which included everything from white models wearing tank tops that declared, “Because my ancestors weren’t free in 1976,” to paper napkins sporting the Pan-African colors labeled “Black and proud.” What sparked the most outcry was a red velvet and cheesecake ice cream labeled “Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation, and enduring hope.”
People took to social media to voice their issues with the collection, and Walmart agreed to remove inappropriate items from the collection and apologized, “Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence. However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize.”***
It is not uncommon for holidays to become commercialized by companies, take July 4th as an example. However, it becomes trickier for companies to navigate this sphere when it comes to more cultural, and personally significant holidays like Juneteenth. Particularly, when these companies may not have people of color in the room to help guide those decisions. The chief executive of the market research platform Gauge, Joshua DuBois, said that the Juneteenth fiasco illustrates the “fundamental gap between far too many brands and the customers and communities that they want to serve.”†
Consequently, companies veer into performative territory and blatantly take advantage of marginalized groups for political and financial gain under the thin guise of support and understanding. This phenomenon isn’t new, and we see it take place every year during Pride Month. The best thing that companies can do is reach out to actual members of the communities that they hope to engage with and take feedback and idea directly from them. Otherwise, they should avoid running campaigns on subjects that they don’t care enough to truly understand.
Like many other issues that befall the black community, the commercialization of Juneteenth seems out of the control of the individual. Especially, when taking large-scale action against a major corporation like Walmart seems impossible when their low prices are the best that many people can afford. Thus, it’s unproductive to shame people for spending their money in ways that work for them. Instead, support black-owned businesses when you can, especially when it comes to more culturally relevant products. After all, water-downed reproductions will never compare to originals.
REFERENCES
* Nix, Bettman. “What is Juneteenth,” HISTORY, 19 June 2015, https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth.
** “White People Should Have to Work on Juneteenth,” Medium, 18 June 2021, https://level.medium.com/white-people-should-have-to-work-on-juneteenth-113eb4fe6255.
*** Bogage, Jacob. “Walmart apologizes, pulls ‘Juneteenth ice cream’ after online backlash,” The Washington Post, 24 May 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/05/24/walmart-juneteenth-ice-cream/.
† Bogage, Jacob. “Juneteenth ice cream and paper plates: Companies keep getting holiday wrong,” The Washington Post, 17 June 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/06/17/juneteenth-walmart-black-businesses/.