The Importance Of One Little Dollar

"There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it's right. And that is where I stand today and that is where I hope you will continue to stand so we can speed up the day when justice will roll down like waters all over the world and righteousness like a mighty stream." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. January 14, 1968

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update on everything. I spent a good majority of the last two weeks researching, e-mailing, and working on getting a response from Target. If you are new here and wondering what this is all about, go read here.

My whole point in this is whether or not it is the manufacturer's fault, Target's fault, if it was on purpose, or not on purpose, if the stock was low, if it is a supply and demand issue...all that doesn't matter. It is the fact that for too long many have not seen something as little as $1 important (easy to do when we live in a very white world) and we do become complacent and comfortable in our own lives. We become blind to the hurt that something as little as a dollar can cause (I know I have before many times). Even if as white adults we may not be seeing it as an inequality issue, I know (through my siblings and numerous e-mails, facebook messages, and talks with people) that others of minority races are and it is leaving the impression that they are not as valuable or as important.

Image source via Pinterest

My friend Renee said it best when she said: "Little girls of all races have enough self esteem issues without society devaluing one race over another. If it was an honest mistake, attention still needs to be called to it so it won't happen in the future. It sends the wrong message.

If stores are so cautious to use the words Happy Holidays as to not offend then surely they can rectify this."

Thus I was feeling a bit sad when Target did not follow up with me in a phone call as they said they would. I actually broke down one night, crying and telling Chris that all this was for nothing and that no change would come about despite how hard I tried.

And then something happened.

I began getting facebook messages and e-mails from people who told me that they had gone back to their Target and the price had changed and they were now the same. I smiled a little on the inside and then the more and more messages that came in, the more I became ecstatic.

Last week, I stopped at my local Target, the one that I originally saw the price difference at, and I saw this:

Yes, they may have changed the price only out of fear of a lawsuit or retribution from social media, but in reality it doesn't matter why they changed it. All that matters is that they did because that means that they too recognized the importance that one little dollar can make.

And to me, and others who were working with me on this, it makes all the difference in the world.