Racist? Watermelon Soda Sold In Target
Monday, September 7, 2009 at 9:47PM
One of our producers visited this Target on 225th St., in New York City and made an interesting discovery. In the beverage aisle he found this soda with a black girl eating watermelon on a can. It reminded us of the caricatures of America's racist past.
We took to Target's parking lot and in front of their store to poll customers. We showed them historic Picaninny images then revealed this product and how it can be found on shelves right now at their local Target.
Follow up
Allthingsharlem
Target Pulls Soda With Racial Image
By Jones, Ayana
Tribune Staff Writer
The retailer recently started carrying the product, produced for decades
Target has come under fire for selling a watermelon soda that has controversial images.
Manufactured by Miami, Fla.-based Cawy Bottling Co., the soda can depicts an image of Black girl with ponytails eating watermelon on one side and an image of a white boy on the other.
Controversy swirled after Paolo Walker, a video producer from Still Here Harlem Productions Inc., saw the product on the shelves of a Target store located at 225th Street in Harlem, N.Y.
The producer filmed the soda on store shelves and surveyed store customers - many of whom were offended by the imagery because it reminded them of past racist depictions of Black children.
An online video blast of their findings led to the Cawy watermelon soda being pulled from Target locations.
According to Target spokesperson Jana O'Leary, the retailer pulled the product off stores shelves earlier this month. This summer, Target began carrying the item in 35 of its 1,700 locations.
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