By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
Walmart is now confident it has removed the vast majority of photos of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II from sale on its website.
The retail giant responded to concerns reported by AsAmNews that despite assurances the photos were being taken down, many remained.
“We have taken action to begin removing those items and that art work. It’s just taken some time,” said a Walmart Spokesperson to AsAmNews late yesterday. “The vast majority of them have already been removed. I would think in the next couple of hours, the remaining prints will be removed.”
Critics blasted the sale of the photos as leaving a misleading impression of incarceration camps and lacking historical context.
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The photos were taken by the government to put a positive spin on the camps.
Walmart says historical books and literature about the incarceration camps will remain.
The art work was sold by third party vendors who are allowed to place, price and market the items as they wanted.
“Those descriptions that were unfortunately attached to those items were part of our third party market place,” said the Walmart spokesperson. “Like any of the big online retailers, there is a certain set of assortment that we own and sell. There is another assortment of items that third parties can list on our website.”
Best selling author Jamie Ford tweeted his displeasure about the sale of the photos last week. The Japanese American Citizens League then worked with Walmart to begin their removal.
Historical books and literature about Japanese American internment camps will remain on the site.
A check by AsAmNews confirmed most photos have been taken down, including the ones we highlighted in our story yesterday. However, we did find the one pictured in this story.
Walmart has asked AsAmNews to forward any links of any remaining photos it may find. If you see any, please send to info at asamnews dot com and we will forward to Walmart.
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RE: Retailer responds to concerns incarceration photos remain on sale on Walmart.com: Thank you Jamie Ford and JACL for taking action. And thank you, Walmart, for screening your sale items better. Historical context is important for photographic images!