When I read that Target was pulling a racially offensive costume and apologizing to consumers, I figured it was a slow news day, with the usual clickbait mountain being made out of some dubious molehill.

Then I saw the costume: an actual Blackface outfit reminiscent of minstrel shows, modeled by a Black child. Whoa.

The costume is indeed unambiguously racial and racist. Target was right to pull it from shelves, and the company should figure out how it was released in the first place.

Many people have a theory: Because Target reduced the size and scope of its diversity, equity and inclusion goals in 2025, racism was bound to rear its untrammeled head. If you assume that the educated Americans working in Target’s corporate offices knew what minstrel........

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