- Walmart removed a pair of boots from its website that had "KKK" written on the tongue.
- The shoes were removed after the Council on American-Islamic Relations notified the retailer.
- "We thank Walmart for dropping an online listing for oddly/poorly named 'KKK' boots," CAIR said.
Walmart has removed an online listing for a pair of men's hiking boots with "KKK" emblazoned on the tongue.
The retailer dropped the shoes from its website after it was flagged by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group.
"We thank Walmart for dropping an online listing for oddly/poorly named 'KKK' boots after we brought this to their attention earlier today," CAIR said in a press release.
Walmart did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The boots, listed as "Harsuny Men's Tactical Military Hikinh Ankle Boot Outdoor Trekking Shoes," were available in black and tan, both with "KKK" in red visible on the tongue of the shoes above the laces.
Their removal comes on the heels of a November congressional report that found Black hourly employees at Walmart were fired twice as often as white staffers. The findings were part of an analysis of staffing inequities at 12 major US companies between 2019 and 2021, conducted by The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.
"Walmart had some of the largest racial inequities of the surveyed companies when it came to employment outcomes," the report said.
In 2020, Walmart pledged to improve diversity within its workforce, and donated $100 million to create a center for racial equity.
"The global health crisis has tested all of us in recent months, and the racial violence in the U.S. — in particular, the murder of George Floyd — is tragic, painful and unacceptable," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon wrote in an email to employees announcing the pledge in June 2020.