It is 2018 and I honestly cannot believe we are still dealing with this.
H&M, a hip clothing company, posted a photo of a young black boy in a hoodie that read 'Coolest Monkey in the Jungle' earlier in the week.
Listen, I understand that the first reaction may be to think that 'monkey' is a cute nickname for a kid and perhaps it is popularly used. But here's the issue with that: comparing black people to apes, monkeys, and gorillas has long been used as a way to subjugate someone as less than human.
The slurs monkey, gorilla, and ape also carry the connotations that the black community carries diseases and is less intelligent.
The racial slur was popularized at the turn of the century in the late 1800s and the early 1900s to further separate whites and blacks not only by race but the idea that there were humans and animals.
It wasn't only suggested that the black community and minorities were less than human, they were put into human zoos in the mid-1800s. According to an article from BBC, western societies created the idea of "the other" as a way to justify their eventual domination of minorities.
For more on the history of monkeys being used as a racial slur, you can read this HuffPost article.
Photos of Human Zoos from The Sun. Warning: Some may find these images disturbing.
H&M is facing backlash on Twitter. The musical artist The Weeknd said he would no longer be working with the clothing line:
But he wasn't the only one to take to Twitter. Some people were upset, others weren't and some think the 80 percent off sale that came after the backlash was a weak apology while others were filling their carts.
H&M also took to Twitter to apologize.
It could have been an innocent oversight but this product had to pass the desk of many people before it was put on H&M's website. A discussion should have been had about how it might have been perceived but instead, H&M said it agrees it is offensive and an investigation will be launched.
It has since been taken down from their site.
Destiny Johnson is a digital reporter with First Coast News. She cares about women's and human rights as she is both a woman and a human. You can follow her on Twitter at @Hello_Destiny.