Performative Juneteenth Marketing And How Corporations Can Do Better
President Joe Biden officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. More specifically it’s the day that the last enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their freedom on June 19, 1865.
It’s only been a year since the holiday officially became a federal holiday but it didn’t take long for corporations to try to cash in on the opportunity. To the chagrin of consumers, Juneteenth-branded items have popped up in some of the most unexpected places; Walmart notably being one of them.
Walmart launched a now-infamous ice cream with Juneteenth labeling that caused an uproar online. The retail giant recently announced that they would be removing all of the labeled ice creams from their shelves in response to the backlash.
“Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” the company said in a statement. “However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate.”
Walmart’s ice cream fiasco wasn’t the first time it displayed tone-deaf marketing practices in an attempt to profit from the holiday. In 2021, they were criticized for selling Juneteenth-branded t-shirts. But Walmart is not the only company that’s been called out for trying to commodify the holiday.
Here are some other notable Juneteenth company mishaps:
Dollar Tree faced social media backlash for promoting a Juneteenth-inspired line of party supplies, decor and headwraps. The company has not responded to the criticism, but did delete tweets advertising and promoting Juneteenth products from its official Twitter page.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis was selling “Juneteenth watermelon salad” in its food courts before removing the product after online criticism.
In 2021, a Georgia IKEA store was facing backlash from its employees after creating a special Juneteenth menu for staff that incorporated fried chicken and watermelon.
Instead of trying to market and profit off of Black suffering, corporations should see the holiday as an opportunity to educate, support, and uplift.
Here are some of the ways businesses can do a better job at celebrating Black communities—for Juneteenth and beyond.
Support Black-Owned Businesses
There are a ton of great Black-owned businesses out there that big-name brands could partner with. A symbiotic partnership could mutually benefit both businesses, as it increases exposure and helps facilitate authentic brand trust. For example, if Walmart had partnered with a black-owned ice cream company like Creamalicious, and marketed one of their ice cream flavors for Juneteenth, the outcome probably would’ve been a lot better.
Aid a Black Cause(s)
Brands should strive to support a cause or contribute to a charity that helps surrounding Black communities. For instance, the ice cream brand, Ben and Jerry’s often contributes to many charities throughout the year including their own, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. The foundation was the brand’s way of giving back to the community, by using a portion of its profits for philanthropic endeavors. And when Ben & Jerry’s launched a new ice cream flavor in honor of Colin Kaepernick in 2020, they made sure that proceeds from the sales would go to supporting Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.
Hire and Promote More Black Employees
Corporations need to do a better job at practicing what they preach. Before promoting a product with cultural branding, businesses need to make sure they have the right voices at the table who can personally identify with the messaging. It’s pivotal that a company’s business protocols are promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Businesses can start by examining their current talent acquisition practices to make sure they are diverse hiring. Corporations should also be making sure that Black and brown people are represented across the ranks of the company.
Help Build Community and Further Education
Capitalizing on the history and culture of an underrepresented community should never be a part of a company’s marketing strategy. Instead, good marketing should facilitate dialogue and empower communities. In this case, the history of Juneteenth shouldn’t be glazed over and appropriated for profit, it should be commemorated, celebrated, and discussed. Companies can use the newfound holiday as an opportunity to invest in company-wide education around issues of race and inequity or as a year-round effort to amplify Black voices. All in all, education, conversations, and change-making should be at the top of any corporation’s Juneteenth campaign efforts.
