After the image began to get retweeted, the Red Cross took notice and responded.
They also issued a statement apologizing.
Per the Red Cross website:
“The American Red Cross appreciates and is sensitive to the concerns raised regarding one of the water safety posters we produced. We deeply apologize for any misunderstanding, as it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone…We have removed the poster from our website and Swim App and have discontinued production. We have notified all of our partner aquatic facilities requesting they take down the poster. Our organization has emphasized to our partners and on social media that it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone and apologized for this inadvertent action. We are currently in the process of completing a formal agreement with a diversity advocacy organization for their guidance moving forward…Once again, we apologize for any inadvertent misunderstanding with regard to the production of this poster, and believe we have taken every step to address the situation.”
But it may be too late. An organization called Black Kids Swim is still crying foul, saying that the apology is insufficient.
Twitter has also sunk their teeth into the situation as well.