"I think on its face, the ice cream that Walmart attempted to sell at best feels performative and exploitative..."

"... in part because Juneteenth is a holiday that signals celebration of liberation, and this feels like an empty symbol rather than a meaningful gesture that companies the size of Walmart could have made to the Black community across the United States in celebration of Juneteenth.... I think that it’s really in the spirit of Juneteenth to ensure that they are doing things that are meaningful for the advancement of both their Black employees and their Black consumers and also where there are avenues for that—even investments in small Black-owned businesses. Juneteenth was once an obscure holiday... As it’s getting renewed attention and visibility, I hope that companies will find ways to mark the historic significance of the holiday and not larger performative gestures like what we are seeing here with Walmart and other companies."

Said Timothy Welbeck, an assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Africology and African American Studies and acting director of the Center for Anti-racism Research at Temple University, quoted in "Learning from Walmart’s Juneteenth marketing mistake/Timothy Welbeck, acting director of the Center for Anti-racism Research, believes companies must develop more meaningful ways to observe the occasion rather than capitalizing off the holiday commercially" (Temple Now).

Making Juneteenth a national holiday was itself a performative gesture, and now that it is a holiday, commercial entities will try to do things that mark the occasion, and holidays tend to be celebrated with foods and decorations and other superficial things. But it's a holiday related to slavery.

I don't know what flavor the "Juneteenth-themed" ice cream was, but you can see a photo of the packaging at this CNN article, which also quotes a professor who uses the vogue word "performative":

Stephanie Leonard, an assistant professor of management at Howard University who specializes in workplace diversity, equity and inclusion... called it “tokenism” when companies rely solely on one or two Black employees to decide how Juneteenth should be marked. 

“It’s tough for organizations to put forth an ice cream or watermelon salad without having done the prior work,” Leonard said. “Because it just comes off as performative, as a last-ditch effort. It does not come off as this organization values its Black employees or values its Black customers.”

ADDED: I see at MarketWatch — "‘Shameless performative act’: Walmart’s Juneteenth-themed ice cream leads to backlash online" — that the flavor is red velvet and cheesecake.  

AND: This makes me wonder why LGBTQ people are accepting rainbows.

ALSO: Buzzfeed has a "cheat sheet" on what white people should not to do for Juneteenth. Shorter Buzzfeed: Whatever you come up with is almost certainly a bad idea.

PLUS: It is a new holiday. Is it like Martin Luther King Day, a day to note but do nothing, or is it like Thanksgiving, where we look at the historical occasion and derive some things to turn into a tradition? Tell me 5 things that could be elements of a Juneteenth celebration — things that white people could do that would be respectful and appreciated. If it's too hard to do and fraught with faux pas, then it will not be celebrated.

AH: Here's a PBS article that has exactly my "5 things" approach: "5 Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth With Your Family." This author, who appears to be black, recommends "red food and drinks like red velvet cake or strawberry soda." Based on the Walmart experience, I don't believe that white people eating red velvet cake and drinking strawberry soda will be appreciated. 

HA HA: "Another issue with Walmart's Juneteenth ice cream was the fact that a trademark symbol appeared beside the holiday's name on the package" (Food & Wine). Celebrating ending the owning of slaves with an attempt to own the occasion of celebrating ending the owning of slaves.