Target recently removed a book dedicated to Black History Month from its shelves after a customer reported that three civil rights icons were incorrectly named in it.
In a viral TikTok, Tierra Espy, known as user @issatete, a high school U.S. history teacher, shared that she found the errors after purchasing the book for her students as part of the “Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Kit” for Black History Month.
After opening up the kit, she found that prominent historian and writer W.E.B. Du Bois, journalist Carter G. Woodson and educator Booker T. Washington were all incorrectly named on magnets as their labels were interchanged.
In her video, the educator pointed out that Woodson was labeled as Washington, Washington was labeled as Du Bois and Du Bois was labeled as Woodson.
“As soon as I saw the mistake, I was like, ‘Oh no, I can’t put this up,’” said Espy, per CNN. They’re expecting us not to notice the mistakes, and it’s heartbreaking as somebody who knows the mistakes and has seen them.”
@issatete Idk who needs to correct it but it needs to be pulled off the shelves nontheless. Any person could have missed the mistake but it just takes one person to point it out and ask for corrections #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth #blacktiktok ♬ original sound – Issa tete
The book was put up as part of the store’s celebrations for Black History Month.
During Black History Month, the achievements of prominent black figures are celebrated throughout the span of one month.
The origins of the month span back to 1926, when Woodson established the idea of celebrating the contributions of Black historical figures throughout one week. February was chosen for the month to overlap with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
The celebrations officially extended to one month in 1969 after Black teachers and Black United Students from Kent State University first proposed the idea.
In 1976, the United States government officially recognized the month when President Gerald Ford announced at the United States Bicentennial that February would officially be Black History Month.
Throughout the month, a variety of events and exhibitions are available to celebrate Black history. The National Museum of African American History and Culture has already announced a series of events for their “Sweet Home Café” initiative which explores Black chefs and their creations.
The New York Public Library is also celebrating Black History Month by highlighting the stories of Black pioneers. Starting from Feb. 1, the library has honored poet Langston Hughes with their “The Ways of Langston Hughes” exhibition.
The exhibition features a variety of photographs of the writer alongside his students and collaborators such as Dorothy West, Zora Neale Hurston and Louis Armstrong.
