Barnes and Noble Changes Course on Black History Month

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To celebrate Black History Month, Barnes and Noble bookseller altered classic book covers with people of color. Reactions were not positive. The author L.L. McKinney explains her position:

“They're essentially just slapping a cover on it to 'celebrate diversity.' But a lot of us felt that you're just trying to cash in on the fact that it's Black History Month, and now all of a sudden, black faces and brown faces will sell books. Just maybe one, two years ago, people were saying in meetings, 'Yeah, you can't put black people on covers. It's not going to sell the book.'“

Discussion:

  • What’s your view of the original campaign? How would you describe the backlash?

  • Assess the statement from Barnes and Noble. How well did the company address and respond to concerns?