Wal-Mart agreed this week to remove certain “Black Lives Matter” apparel with the slogan “Bulletproof” from its online store after the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police urged the retailer to stop selling clothing items containing the slogan.
FOP National President Chuck Canterbury published an open letter addressed to Wal-Mart headquarters Tuesday calling on the company to cease from selling “offensive shirts and sweatshirts with the slogans ’BULLETPROOF’ and ’Black Lives Matter.’
“I wanted to let you know that my members are reporting that Walmart is selling this offensive merchandise. I understand that these are third-party sales and not Walmart products, but I am concerned that allowing these articles of clothing to be sold in this way will damage your company’s good name amongst FOP members and other active and retired law enforcement officers,” Mr. Canterbury wrote.
“At a time of year when we as a nation and indeed, as a world, should be coming together in hopes of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, these third-party sellers are profiting from racial division. Commercializing our differences will not help our local police and communities to build greater trust and respect for one another. Turning a buck on strained relationships will not contribute to the healing process,” he added.
Wal-Mart issued a statement in response to Mr. Canterbury’s letter Tuesday evening, and the retailer’s website no longer allowed customers to purchase clothing items containing the phrase “BULLETPROOF” above the words “Black Lives Matter” as of Wednesday morning.
“Like other online retailers, we have a marketplace with millions of items offered by third-parties that includes Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter merchandise. After hearing concerns from customers, we are removing the specific item with the ’bulletproof’ reference,” Wal-Mart said in its reply to Mr. Canterbury’s letter.
The clothing in question was being sold through Wal-Mart’s website by Old Glory Merchandise, a Connecticut-based apparel company whose products include a variety of items ranging from sports-themed Christmas ornaments to Grateful Dead pint glasses.
While apparel containing the “BULLETPROOF” slogan was no longer being sold online by Wal-Mart on Wednesday, other Old Glory items remained available for purchase on the retailer’s website, including “Blues Lives Matter,” “Journalists Lives Matter,” “Homeless Lives Matters” and “Black Lives Matter” items that lacked the bulletproof reference.
Old Glory did not immediately respond to requests for comment, The Washington Post reported Tuesday evening.
Black Lives Matter formed in 2013 following the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman. The activist movement has grown in the years since and had regularly organized demonstrations across the country aimed at addressing systematic racism and institutionalized violence suffered by blacks.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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