American Eagle was selling a “slave shackle” bracelet, and customers are understandably angry
From Pepsi to Urban Outfitters, it’s all too common for large corporations to devise marketing strategies or products that strike many as tone deaf. And in the most recent example of lacking racial sensitivity, American Eagle issued an apology after one of its new men’s bracelets resembling a shackle caused outrage on Twitter.
One Twitter user noticed the bracelet in an American Eagle store on December 11th. The metal screw cuff reminded him of the shackles worn by American slaves, and he tweeted his disbelief at the bracelet along with side-by-side photos of the bracelet and shackles.
“@american_eagle I saw this bracelet in and think you need to revisit this,” he wrote. “I would never wear this due to the obvious slavery connection. I hope you do the right thing and remove this from your stores. Please retweet your support. #SlavesNoMore”
Other Twitter users also criticized the resemblance, saying that it was overtly racist for the company to sell the bracelets and questioning how the design got approved in the first place. American Eagle issued a statement on December 12th apologizing and saying it would pull the bracelets.
“We’ve heard and understand the concerns about the bracelet,” the brand tweeted. “We apologize and will remove the product from our stores and website.”
@american_eagle I saw this "bracelet" in and think you need to revisit this. I would never wear this due to the obvious slavery connection. I hope you do the right thing and remove this from your stores. Please retweet your support. #SlavesNoMore pic.twitter.com/aShkem9szx
— Ronald E. Frazier II (@Ron_II) December 11, 2017
We’ve heard and understand the concerns about the bracelet. We apologize and will remove the product from our stores and website.
— American Eagle (@AEO) December 12, 2017
Are you ready to party like it's 1799?! Well, scurry on down to American Eagle and pick up these "bracelets" pic.twitter.com/WkPa4nYzVv
— V. Complex (@ValerieComplex) December 16, 2017
I mean, COME ON, @AEO!! Seems a little obvious. We do not need to get slavery jewelry trending. It IS offensive. https://t.co/keZWPnf58z
— Lorraine Devon Wilke (@LorraineDWilke) December 13, 2017
Can somebody help me understand why? This a shackle not a bracelet American Eagle! Y’all got to do better
— Lj Elder (@mzsupabecky) December 15, 2017
@AEO so is this supposed to be funny? Your really selling this in your stores? I find this disturbing that in 2017/2018 companies like you would be selling what looks like shackles and think that it's ok. There will be resistance to this. pic.twitter.com/fZPAVkxs4N
— Duffism101 (@incduff) December 12, 2017
American Eagle’s apology didn’t resonate for every Twitter user. Some felt that the apology was insincere and that the damage caused by the offensive bracelet couldn’t be undone.
I’m not sure this is a ‘we got caught and are sorry’ moment. Who designed it? Who gave this the ok? Nobody thought it was a bad idea? It shouldn’t be the job of offended customers in stores to be checking your products?
— Michael (@MichaelHBF) December 12, 2017
You mfs think you're slick, the idea in its conception is enough to validate that racism is deeply embedded in this company. You're not sorry, you just got caught.
— Captain Crooks (@CrooksQuawi) December 17, 2017
Yeah, screw your apology. If you want to really make amends, you'll explain how this got approved to sell in stores. Don't need names. Just want to know how none of you actually understood that this was offensive. You basically tried to commercialize blackface.
— Glenn Jeffers (@gjjeffers) December 16, 2017
Others pointed out that the problem could only be remedied if American Eagle took greater steps to include diversity among its corporate staff.
@AEO hire people of color to leadership, product design, buying, marketing, and ecommerce teams then we can hear a “sorry”
— Allison
(@allisonhopstad) December 12, 2017
Selling products that eerily evoke slavery is not okay. It’s not enough to recall offensive products; they should never be produced in the first place. And the best way to make sure products aren’t offensive is to hire a diverse staff who can tell you when something seems like a bad idea. Racism can have very real consequences — including affecting people’s mental health, so it’s important to end it. Hopefully, after the backlash American Eagle has faced over this slave shackle “bracelet,” they’ll make changes and do better in the future.
