Mom Starts Petition to Pull Target's ANNIE-Inspired Ads

According to an article on Yahoo! Parenting, mother L'Sean Rinique Shelton started a petition to retract ads for Target's recent ANNIE-inspired clothing line after her 8-year-old biracial daughter asked why "the new black Annie isn't good enough" after seeing a white model dressed in the musical orphan's red frock.

The petition also asks Target to apologize to ANNIE's star Quvenzhané Wallis. As of this evening, December 30, the petition has garnered 7,562 signatures.

Today, Target responded to the Delaware mom's complaints, writing: "At Target, we appreciate the opportunity to hear from our guests. We're proud of our Annie for Target collection, which was inspired by the recently released remake of the family classic and designed by the film's costume designer...With regard to the marketing of the collection, girls from a variety of backgrounds were featured within the campaign, reflecting that anyone can embody the spirit and character of Annie...As for the involvement of Quvenzhané Wallis, we had conversations with her team about being in the campaign, but ultimately it did not come to fruition. Fortunately, we had the pleasure of working with Ms. Wallis a number of times, including appearances at Target's sales meeting in September and a launch event in New York City in November. We had a great experience working with Ms. Wallis and appreciate her efforts in promoting this collection."

Read Shelton's full argument below, and see more on the Change.org petition page.

"In the current stench of racism and division amongst Americans, why would Target singlehandedly disrespect Quvenzhané Wallis and add more pain to injury as it relates to race relations?

Your recent Annie ads and in-store displays depicts a misleading depiction of the movie as it shows a Caucasion young lady opposed to the star of the film- Quvenzhané Wallis. Though the model is quite professional, she does not speak to the relevance of the movie or main character. When the original Annie came out, everything was about Aileen Quinn or a character/person that emulated her...why not now Target? If you can show it online, show it in ALL of your stores with multiple signage with different girls not one!

Although Annie is a fictitious character, there has been a major uproar from protesters stating that they would not support the movie due to the star being African American. Is the reason whyTarget maliciously hid Quvenzhané Wallis or refused to use an African American girl to depict Annie in their ads?

Why do you feel that we are not enough to portray our beautiful images on your advertisements? If it is a multi-cultural issue, surely you could use her co-stars on some ads and Quvenzhané Wallis or another African American girl on others. Target, do you realize that African-American's Buying Power Projected to be $1.1 Trillion By 2015 and as per Black Enterprise our group is the second largest racial minority in the country. Enough signatures will diminish your bottomline as it relate to sales.

Why does African American actors have to beg for respect, especially as it relates to advertising? When does it stop? Target it should stop now with this petition! Despite most beliefs, African Americans are capable of portraying more than drug dealers, pimps, and other bastardized portrayals of our culture. Gone are the days that African Americans sang or read lines from behind the scenes while our counterparts lip synced and was viewed as the stars. Quvenzhané Wallis earned that role and we demand your respect.

We demand that you immediately pull those misleading ads and give Quvenzhané Wallis her due respect as well as other little girls who aspire to be like her. Being African American is not ugly, it is not bad and we are sellable! These grossly misleading ads are adding to the divide and does not give young African American girls aspiring to become actors anything to be optimistic about. Or show more diversity within your stores and depict a variety of races as you did with your online ads. Everyone does not have access to internet- plus the younger fans may not be allowed to use internet.

With Quvenzhané Wallis attending your Target launch, don't you think that ALL Target stores should have the same signs to embrace all? In addition, that special "Red Dress" is synonymous to Annie- not a random model that does not look like her!

It would also be proper for you to apologize to Quvenzhané Wallis- that was utterly disrespectful.

Signed

Concious Consumers that had enough"