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pretty afro woman eating an ice cream cone and chocolate, very happy, summer concept

jose carlos cerdeno martinez

 

Great Value Brand is allegedly gearing up to release a new ice cream flavor in celebration of Juneteenth.

Recently, a photo began surfacing that appeared to show the Walmart-affiliated retail brand preparing to drop their “Celebration Edition” ice cream flavor in honor of the holiday. Naturally, Black people across the internet raised a few eyebrows when the company revealed the flavor and packaging for the forthcoming release.

The swirled red velvet and cheesecake ice cream will allegedly come in a yellow, green, and red container reminiscent of the African flag. It also features two Black hands high fiving each other, and a ton of Black social media users weren’t feeling the design concept for a number of reasons.

 

Social media reacts to the Juneteenth ice cream photo

Some people argued that Walmart was another white corporation looking to capitalize on the holiday.

“I would prefer a black-owned company profit off Juneteenth ice cream than Walmart of all companies,” wrote one person on Twitter, referencing the company’s track record of discriminating against Black employees and shoppers. “An internal survey by Walmart found many high-ranking Black employees wouldn’t recommend working there.”

 

Another person chimed in:

“I’m so tired of yt ppl tryna capitalize off us. Like damn. Why do we need a Juneteenth ice cream? Not too long ago they didn’t want us to know what Juneteenth was!”

 

While Dr. Umar Johnson wrote:

“I told you last year that President Biden federalized juneteenth so they could weaken it, exploit it, commercialize it, and ultimately destroy its relevance. For the first time in history most Juneteenth celebrations throughout the country are being financed by white corporations.”

 

Other users weren’t too keen on the flavor profile.

“At least do butter pecan damn,” wrote model Joie Chavis underneath The Shade Room’s Instagram post about the news.

One user joked:

“What’s next? Fried chicken and Hennessy scented candles in the spirit of celebrating?”

 

Some people on social media offered a different perspective about the release.

Waka Flocka wondered if the initiative would be better if Walmart donated “the capital made in each state” to a Black-owned business or school.

Howard law alum Stephanie M. Smith argued that Ben and Jerrys would have been a better company to design a commemorative ice cream flavor.

“There would at least be some type of call to action and focus-grouped flavor,” she added.

 

Walmart doesn’t appear to mention the ice cream on their website, so it could be a huge hoax, but the company does appear to be selling a slew of Juneteenth-inspired products right now. What do you think? Is Walmart attempting to capitalize and weaken the message behind Juneteenth? Is it insensitive in your opinion? Tell us down below.

 

RELATED CONTENT: 5 Ways You And Your Family Can Celebrate Juneteenth

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