An embarassing news report for superstore Walmart has resurfaced in the wake of Hillary Clinton shattering the glass ceiling to become the first woman US presidential nominee of a major party.
The Associated Press story from 1995 revealed that a Walmart store had pulled a popular T-shirt that read ‘Someday a woman will be president’ off its shelves because it was “offensive’. The ban ignited protests across the country.
The garment was emblazoned with child character Margaret from the English cartoon ‘Dennis the Menace’, who was pictured smiling with her arms spread wide, making the proclamation.
A buyer for women’s clothing at the chain told AP at the time that the message “goes against Walmart’s family values”.
But those quotes were re-published by social media users on Wednesday to highlight Clinton’s achievement.
“Amazing how our collective view of gender has evolved in such a short period of time,” wrote columnist Jonathan Merritt on Twitter.
They were celebrating after Clinton was formally named the Democratic nominee for president at her party’s convention in Philadelphia, making her the first woman ever to top a major party’s ticket for the White House.
More than 200 other women have sought the presidency since 1872, but none have come this far.
The female Democratic leaders gathered this week have waited their entire lives to see one of their own reach this point, just a step away from the Oval Office.
To them, Clinton’s nomination represents the culmination of decades of work devoted to tearing down the barriers women have faced seeking high office in America.
Convention-goers told The Huffington Post that they considered Clinton’s nomination a watershed moment that would encourage more young women to pursue public office.
“We tend to want to emulate what we can see,” said Wendy Davis, a Texan Democrat. “We need to see ourselves in office so we can aspire to those things. Having [Clinton] there, I think, is going to open up for little girls ― and not-so-young girls ― the aspirations that they may not have had for themselves previously.”