AmericaBlog published an item purported to be from "Alice Walton, Chair of The Board of Directors" of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. It appears to be getting passed around on Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, it may not be true.
The statement reads, in part....
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BENTONVILLE, AR- The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will close on Friday, November 23, out of respect for the Walmart workers engaging in Black Friday strikes, walkouts, and pickets. Alice Walton, Chair of the Board of Directors, also asks all Americans to stay home with their family rather than shop on Thanksgiving, so that Walmart workers do not have to report to work in the middle their Thanksgiving meals on this national holiday. The Museum will reopen on Saturday, November 24.
It's a nice letter with some lovely sentiments. The complete statement can be seen here:
http://crystalbridgesfoundation.org/
But sadly, Alice may not actually be standing with the striking workers. The URL of the statement is different from the actual URL of the museum website. In fact a quick WHOIS check shows it was registered in Panama City, Panama only 3 days ago. Add to that the museum Facebook page and Twitter both indicate the museum is open today. So, no shutdown in support of workers.
Update: Even as I type this, AmericaBlog has confirmed that it is a hoax. As they say, sigh and I have to agree. I guess it was just too good to be true.
12:15 PM PT: Update: The AmericaBlog link now links to a current article on the Wal-Mart Black Friday strikes.