‘This is what Target does for BHM?’: Massachusetts man goes to Target during Black History Month and immediately regrets it… because of a sweater
A toddler could’ve done better than that.
Every February, major retailers scramble to prove they’re allies by slapping some pan-African colors on a t-shirt and calling it a day. But Target just stepped in it big time. A recent viral TikTok has exposed a Black History Month display that is so tone-deaf, it’s unbelievable it comes from a Black designer.
The video, posted by a Massachusetts creator (@luvnate._), shows a clothing rack dedicated to Black History Month at Target. Among the celebratory items is a blue sweater covered in a repetitive print of hair combs and picks.
It’s giving the kind of second hand embarrassment that makes you want to crawl under a shelf and hide.
Target is selling a “Combs and Picks” sweater for Black History Month
As the camera pans over the “Celebrate Black History Month” banner, it lands on the sweater in question. The design features rows of white Afro picks and combs on a bright blue background. While hair is undoubtedly a significant part of Black culture and history, framing a generic hair tool as the pinnacle of a month-long celebration feels lazy at best. And insulting at worst.
Instead of highlighting leaders, artists, or historical milestones, Target apparently thought, “Hey, they use picks, right? Put it on a crewneck.” The distasteful design has sparked a wave of mockery online. Users are questioning how this passed through multiple levels of approval without anyone saying, “Maybe this is a bit much?”
Who designed the sweater? And is Target guilty?
To be fair to Target’s PR department, these Black History Month collections are often marketed as collaborations with Black artists and designers. The intention is to give these creators a platform and a slice of the retail pie. However, that doesn’t absolve the brand of its “gatekeeping” responsibilities.
While a Black artist may have designed the sweater, Target still holds the ultimate authority over what hits the floor. They are the ones who chose to put this specific design on a pedestal. Despite multiple levels of review, they selected a pattern that leans so heavily into a simplified stereotype of “hair.”
Target has proved that even when they outsource the art, they still lack the cultural competency to know when a design is a miss. Even if they did not come up with the design, why would they choose the most basic, surface-level representation available? It makes you wonder who’s really sitting at their “diverse” board of directors table.
“Why are you even at Target?”
The comment section of the video wasn’t just roasting the sweater; it was roasting the creator for being in the store at all. A massive portion of the audience pointed to the ongoing calls for Black people to boycott Target. This came due to the brand’s perceived backsliding on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives.
Over the last year, Target has faced significant backlash for pulling Pride merchandise and allegedly quietly scaling back on its DEI commitments. The company did so after facing pressure from conservative groups. So, for the Black community, the hair pick sweater isn’t just a bad design. It’s a slap in the face from a company that many feel has already abandoned them.
“Why are we still shopping here?” was the recurring sentiment, suggesting that no amount of “inclusive” sweaters can fix a broken trust. Especially not one featuring combs and picks. And at the end of the day, Black History Month at Target has become a case study in corporate activism.
The brand isn’t just failing its customers, it’s highlighting its own hypocrisy. We can all agree that Black history is a bit more complex than a repeat pattern of plastic hair tools. But, apparently, nobody at Target thought so.
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