(CNN) Barnes & Noble says it is canceling a Black History Month event at its flagship New York store and suspending plans to release a series of classic novels with new cover art featuring people of color.

The Diverse Editions program sparked a social media backlash from critics, who point out that the characters inside the books are still white.

"We acknowledge the voices who have expressed concerns about the Diverse Editions project at our Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue store and have decided to suspend the initiative," Barnes & Noble said in a statement. A launch event that was scheduled for Wednesday evening was canceled as well.

The Diverse Editions event at our @BNFifthAvenue location originally scheduled for this evening has been cancelled. Please see our statement: pic.twitter.com/jGquff9MyM — Barnes & Noble (@BNBuzz) February 5, 2020

For the project, Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House planned to release special editions of 12 classic novels with new covers that featured people of color.

One cover of "The Wizard of Oz" shows Dorothy as an African American girl with her hair in a braid and puffs and a pair of red sneakers slung over her shoulder. Juliet wears a head scarf on one cover of "Romeo and Juliet", "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" wears a turban and Frankenstein's monster is a green-eyed, African American man with bolts in his neck.