Walmart Will Stop Locking Makeup, Beauty, and Multicultural Products Up
News broke last year that Walmart was locking up certain makeup and beauty at some of their stores and unfortunately, this led to a lawsuit. According to the New York Times, in 2019, a woman sued Walmart for racism because her store was locking up African-American personal care products.
The woman, Essie Grundy, purchasing a mere $0.48 comb made her feel humiliated and discriminated against due to the experience of having a store employee having to unlock the case to get the comb. She further stated all products that were “targeted at African Americans”� were locked under glass. This included combs, brushes, wave caps, etc.
It’s a little late for this but Walmart has confirmed it will stop putting ‘multicultural’ products in locked cases. In my opinion, it should have never been under a locked case to begin with. Talking about stereotyping a certain race…! Jeez guys.
The lock down only took place in about a dozen stores according to Walmart but many of my readers were quick to point out that their stores had these “precautions” (I use that term very, very loosely) in place. The locked cases drew criticism because it was implied that people of color couldn’t be trusted and really, when you’re specifically taking certain products and putting them under lock and key it speaks pretty loud and clear that you’re targeting a certain group of people.
Walmart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez told NBC News that the company is “sensitive to the issue and understands the concerns” and would be implementing the change in policy “as soon as possible.”�
“As a retailer serving millions of customers every day from diverse backgrounds, Walmart does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Like other retailers, the cases were put in place to deter shoplifters from some products such as electronics, automotive, cosmetics and other personal care products,” Lopez said.
Better late than never Walmart but really, this should have never happened to begin with.