Is Target Racist? Delaware Mother Starts Petition Over Store’s ‘Annie’ Clothing Line

One Delaware mother is outraged at Target for featuring a white model in place of Quvenzhané Wallis for its Annie-inspired clothing lineup, and she has now started a petition to have the advertisements removed.

LaSean Rinque told Yahoo! Parenting that she and her 8-year-old daughter were in front of the computer when they came across the ads. Rinque’s daughter, who is biracial and is described as an “Annie superfan,” noticed that the model was wearing the red dress and locket in the Target advertisements, which is the iconic outfit for the movie character. But Rinque said her daughter was confused why Annie was white.

“She saw the ad and said to me, ‘That’s not what Annie looks like. How come the new black Annie isn’t good enough? Does that mean I’m not good enough?'”

Rinque mentioned that she was in shock when she heard her daughter say that.

“I explained to her that the original Annie was white, and that both Annies are beautiful, and that sometimes people make mistakes and have to apologize for them. Then we started singing ‘It’s a Hard-Knock Life’ while she got back to doing her chores.”

Rinque then started a petition on Change.org for Target to remove the ads and to issue an apology to Wallis. At the time of this post, the petition has garnered more than 9,000 signatures.

“In the current stench of racism and division amongst Americans, why would Target singlehandedly disrespect Quvenzhané Wallis and add more pain to injury as it relates to race relations? Your recent Annie ads and in-store displays depicts a misleading depiction of the movie as it shows a Caucasion [sic] young lady opposed to the star of the film — Quvenzhané Wallis.”

Rinque did compliment the model used in the Target advertisements, but she felt that she wasn’t a good fit for the 2014 version of Annie.

“The Red Dress is synonymous to Annie and we are not seeing that in any of your ads. When the original Annie came out, everything was about Aileen Quinn or a character/person that emulated her… why not now Target?”

Hello Beautiful reports that while Target hasn’t officially apologized, the store did release a statement in regards to the issue and why Wallis was not used in the advertisements.

“At Target, we appreciate the opportunity to hear from our guests. We’re proud of our Annie for Target collection, which was inspired by the recently released remake of the family classic and designed by the film’s costume designer … With regard to the marketing of the collection, girls from a variety of backgrounds were featured within the campaign, reflecting that anyone can embody the spirit and character of Annie.”

“As for the involvement of Quvenzhané Wallis, we had conversations with her team about being in the campaign, but ultimately it did not come to fruition. Fortunately, we had the pleasure of working with Ms. Wallis a number of times, including appearances at Target’s sales meeting in September and a launch event in New York City in November. We had a great experience working with Ms. Wallis and appreciate her efforts in promoting this collection.”

Though Rinque and others have grown outraged over Target’s clothing line, it was acknowledged that Wallis and her Annie co-star, Jamie Foxx, recently visited a store in Minnesota to promote the collection. CNN Money is reporting that the clothing line, which was initially planned for a limited run, is scheduled to be removed from Target stores by the end of this week.

[Image via Change.org]