Walmart Will No Longer Sell Confederate Flag Merchandise

Following last week’s Charleston church massacre that left nine dead, there have been countless calls to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina government property. In fact, a MoveOn petition requesting the removal of the flag has garnered more than half a million signatures, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for its removal during a press conference earlier today.

Now the country’s largest retailer has taken a stand.

Walmart announced today that it will no longer sell Confederate flag merchandise in its stores and online.

Walmart spokesman Brian Nick had the following to say:

“We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our web site. We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances.”

While removal of the Confederate flag will in no way eradicate systemic racism, Walmart’s decision is undoubtedly a step in the right direction (although one might question why the retailer sold Confederate flag merchandise in the first place…).

[via CNN]