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WASHINGTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The American Red Cross has apologized for the pool safety poster it produced as more netizens continued to call it "super racist."
"We deeply apologize for any misunderstanding, as it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone ...we are committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do, every day," the organization said on Monday in a statement.
The controversial poster depicted a crowd of cartoon children playing in and by a swimming pool. It tags "cool" behavior and "not cool" behavior.
Twitter users pointed out that the "cool" children are all light-colored while the "not cool" ones are dark-skinned.
The image hit on the ever sensitive nerve of racism in the United States.
"Hey, @RedCross, send a new pool poster to @SalidaRec bc the current one they have w your name on it is super racist," John Sawyer, who voiced his concern in a tweet on June 21.
The Red Cross said in a statement that it has removed the controversial image from its website and Swim App and has discontinued production.
It also requested its partner aquatic facilities to take down the poster, the statement said.
The poster is part of the Aquatics Centennial Campaign launched in 2014by the Red Cross. The organization said its intention was to reduce the drowning rate in high-risk communities.
