Wal-Mart Honors the Contributions of African Americans to the Nation During Black History Month and Beyond

History is made each day and African Americans continue to contribute to our country's rich legacy. During Black History Month, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. encourages its associates and customers to celebrate black history every day. The company reminds Walmart customers that "Every day is a good day to learn black history" through a series of radio and television ads, along with in-store and online educational material designed to promote awareness of black history.
"This year's Black History Month theme encourages our associates and customers to honor the positive impact African Americans have made throughout our nation's history," said Esther Silver-Parker, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs. "Our company continues to be committed to the communities it serves through education, opportunity and celebration, and our campaign to celebrate black history throughout the year is perfectly aligned with this commitment. We proudly engage in initiatives to celebrate black history and we encourage our customers to join us in making this a year-round observance."

Wal-Mart proudly engages in year-round cultural initiatives. As an employer of choice for more than 251,000 African-American associates, Wal-Mart's commitment to the African-American community extends to a variety of partnerships and corporate programs reaching customers where they live. Some major initiatives include:
-Walmart announced its commitment to serve as the presenting sponsor of Tavis Smiley's America I AM: The African American Imprint, a mobile and museum exhibit that celebrates the imprint African Americans have had on nearly 500 years of American history. The mobile exhibit visited more than 40 communities and events throughout the country in 2008 as it made its way to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for the unveiling of a 15,000 sq. ft. museum exhibit. The museum exhibit will travel to major cities across the country until 2012.
In 2008, the Wal-Mart Foundation provided a $12.5 million letter of credit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., which will allow the foundation to begin construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.
-In 2008, Wal-Mart associates and the Wal-Mart Foundation, contributed more than $300,000 in charitable donations to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). These contributions were in addition to the $1 million grant by the Wal-Mart Foundation to support the UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building Fiscal and Strategic Technical Assistance Program (FASTAP). The program helps Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) strengthen their operations

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