In the wake of Black Lives Matters protests across the country, the LEGO Group asked retailers to stop marketing product listings involving police officers. Further, the company will donate $4 million dollars to combat racism.
"We requested that our affiliate partners refrain from posting promotional LEGO content as part of our decision to respect #BlackOutTuesday and pause posting content on our social media channels in response to the tragic events in the US," a LEGO Group spokesperson told The Toy Book, which also shared a copy of the letter sent to retailers. "We regret any misunderstanding and will ensure that we are clearer about our intentions in the future."
The sets affected by this included the LEGO City Police Station, Fire Station, Police Dog Unit, Patrol Car, Fire Plane, Mobile Command Center, Police Highway Arrest and City Donut Shop Opening set, as well as the Police Officer "Duke DeTain" and "Crook" minifigures. Each set involves police officers, firefighters, criminals or emergency vehicles in some capacity. Nevertheless, these products are currently still listed on the LEGO website and at other retailers.
This follows a message posted to LEGO's official Twitter account today, which reads, "We stand with the black community against racism and inequality. There is much to do. We will donate $4 million to organizations dedicated to supporting black children and educating all children about racial inequality." This image and message appears below.
Hundreds of protests have formed across the United States in response to George Floyd's death as a result of police brutality. The 46-year-old Floyd died from a lack of oxygen when Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck for over eight minutes. Chauvin has been arrested, and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights is currently launching a civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.
To help protestors affected by their arrests, you can find donation links to Black Lives Matter, the Minneapolis Freedom Fund, the George Floyd Memorial Fund, Justice for Regis Korchinski Paque Fund, the National Police Accountability Project and the Louisville Community Bail Fund.