John,

You did it! Less than 24 hours after thousands of SumOfUs members like you flooded Walmart with messages and calls, the giant corporation stopped selling its "All Lives Matter" merchandise in Canada. And less than a week later, it dropped its racist shirts in the US, as well -- thanks to big pressure from SumOfUs members.

"Black Lives Matter" has been the key rallying call in the US for the fight for racial justice. In response, anti-black and racist groups have used ‘All Lives Matter’ as a code and dog whistle to show they stand against racial justice.

So when we saw that Walmart was selling ‘All Lives Matter’ merchandise, we knew that we had to speak up. Thousands of you took action, and less than a week later, Walmart has pulled the anti-black lives matter products off its shelves.

Earlier this month, Walmart, like many big brands, put out a statement saying that “Without question, Black Lives Matter.” But selling and profiting from the sale of anti-Black Lives Matter merchandise is total hypocrisy and rather than take responsibility, Walmart initially tried to pass the buck. That was until thousands of SumOfUs members got involved!

This Walmart victory is not the first time we pushed companies to stop selling hateful products. In 2018, after a sustained campaign, we got tech company Shopify to ban hate groups like the Proud Boys from selling items through its platform too.

And we have plans to do more long term campaigns targeting giant corporations like Starbucks, AT&T, and Facebook that say they support Black Lives Matter for good publicity, but act to uphold white supremacy behind its boardroom.

Campaigns like this take time and resources and we are a small campaigning organization pitted against the power of billion-dollar corporations -- this work simply can't happen without your support.

Can you chip in a special monthly gift to ensure we continue to hold corporations accountable?

Thanks for all you do,

Angus, Nick, Toni, Will, Vicky, and the team at SumOfUs

More information:

'All Lives Matter' shirt removed from Walmart Canada's website after backlash, CTV, June 25th, 2020
Walmart discontinues sales of 'All Lives Matter' shirts following backlash, The Guardian, June 30th, 2020

This is the original email we sent to members:

"Black Lives Matter" has been the key rallying call in the United States and Canada after the movement that rose up to protest the tragic deaths of George Floyd.

But anti-black and racist groups have responded with their own slogan: ‘All Lives Matter’. It may sound harmless at first glance but this slogan has become their rallying cry: a way to delegitimize the Black Lives Matter movement -- threatening and intimidating those on the side of racial justice.

John, we just discovered that Walmart is selling All Lives Matter merchandise on its online store.

This multi-billion dollar corporation is helping promote a dangerous counter-movement to Black Lives Matter and is skimming off some tidy profits in the process.

Walmart is already under heavy pressure to take the merchandise off its shelves and if we flood them with calls, emails, and comments on social media, we can get them to stop selling these hateful products.

Send an urgent message to Walmart calling on it to stop selling All Lives Matter shirts now

Really make your voice heard by phoning Walmart too and leaving comments social media demanding the company takes action:

At its face, the phrase "All Lives Matter" sounds benign -- but the people that use the term, and context of which they use it makes it extremely problematic.

All lives should matter equally, but in the our justice system they do not. Black men are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than White men.

So at its best, the phrase All Lives Matter pull the focus away from Black Lives Matter.

At its worst, the phrase has become code and a dog whistle for racists that stand for white supremacy.

Walmart knows the controversy around “All Lives Matter”, which is why it is distancing from the product already -- saying that it's a third-party seller's fault.

But ultimately the buck stops with Walmart: Walmart can pull these products off its site today. And if we push them hard while the controversy is all over the media, we can get them to stop selling these shirts now.

Message Walmart calling on it to stop selling All Lives Matter shirts now

Really make your voice heard by calling Walmart too and leaving comments social media demanding the company takes action:

In response to unprecedented waves of protests since George Floyd’s murder, Walmart, like many big brands, put out a statement saying “Without question, Black Lives Matter.” But selling and profiting from the sale of anti-Black Lives Matter merchandise is total hypocrisy.

We won against corporations that profit off hate before. After relentless pressure, we got Shopify to ban hate groups like the Proud Boys from selling items through its platform. And if we call all Walmart to drop its “All Lives Matter” merchandise now, we can win another victory on corporations profiting off hate again.