What’s that in the frozen food aisle of your local Walmart? It’s Walmart’s Great Value store brand, Juneteenth™ ice cream. Or at least it was for a very short time in late May of 2022.
But wait, there’s more. In addition to Walmart’s line of Juneteenth™ ice cream, they also created Juneteenth™ wine, t-shirts and merchandise. The ice cream’s label read, “Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope.” Walmart even claimed a trademark on the word Juneteenth, although US Patent and Trademark Office records don’t show a record for Walmart applying for a trademark for the word.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, celebrating the end of slavery in the United States at the end of the Civil War. However, in 2022, the folks at Walmart thought Juneteenth created a great opportunity to make some profit, with Juneteenth red velvet and cheesecake flavored ice cream.
After a very quick backlash to the Walmart Juneteenth™ ice cream, Walmart promised to remove all of the Juneteenth ice cream from its stores, “We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate. The 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.” We can only hope that “International Holocaust Remembrance Day” is not next on their list.
