Walmart is removing “All Lives Matter” shirts from its online store.
The retailer is making the change after receiving feedback from employees and customers, reports CBS MoneyWatch.
“We will continue to sell other variations, including ‘Blue Lives Matter,'” a company spokesperson told the outlet.
“We fundamentally believe that all lives are important and that each individual deserves respect,” they said. “As we listened, however, we came to understand that some, but not all, people who used the phrase ‘All Lives Matter’ in today’s environment intentionally downplayed the painful reality of racial inequality.”
“All Lives Matter” is widely seen as a way to try to hide the Black Lives Matter movement, which focuses on systemic racism and police brutality. Many have pointed out that using “all lives matter” in response to Black Lives Matter rules out white privilege and devaluation of black lives.
Walmart continues to sell t-shirts and products online “All lives cannot matter until black lives matter.”Screenshot / Walmart.com
Walmart still sells products that say, “All lives cannot matter until black lives matter.”
Blue Lives Matter was formed as a response by law enforcement to Black Lives Matter, who gained momentum in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the 2012 fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.
Blue Lives Matter emerged in 2014 after Ismaaiyl Brinsley fatally shot New York Police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in Brooklyn. The shooting occurred months after the summer of 2014, when Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri. The previous month, Eric Garner, an unarmed black man on Staten Island, died after being strangled by Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Walmart sells a Blue Lives Matter shirt.Screenshot / Walmart.com
The “thin blue line” flag, a black-and-white American flag with a blue stripe, is often used by those who support Blue Lives Matter. A Blue Lives Matter shirt on the Walmart website features a shield emblem showing the flag in the shape of a police badge.
Walmarts in Mississippi also recently removed state flags that include a Confederate emblem.
The changes at Walmart come during a national trial of racial injustice. Widespread protests followed the death of George Floyd on May 25. Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed by police in Minneapolis after Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Protesters also demonstrated on behalf of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other African Americans who were killed.
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