The Target Corporation is about to face a 40-day boycott, sponsored by activists who want to push back against the company’s acceptance of the new right-wing turn at the White House.
Dr. Jamal H. Bryant, pastor of the Stonecrest, Georgia-based New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, recently announced that he will launch a 40-day economic FAST against Target. The fast, or boycott, will take place from March 3 through April 19, 2025; it’s meant to put pressure on the discount retail store, which on Jan. 24 announced that it will be pulling back on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
In response, Pastor Bryant is calling on African Americans to “stop shopping at the retailer and divest from its stock holdings.”
“You ain’t upset about nothing?” Pastor Bryant rhetorically asked members of his church when he announced the Target Fast. “White supremacy is banking on your complacency. They are banking on you being so complacent about your car, your bag, your shoes that you don’t see the whole community is imploding around you. That’s why Target, Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford or Lowe’s is about to have a wake-up call because whenever it is that Black people organize and mobilize there is nothing that we go after that we don’t succeed in.”
In a statement, Bryant said “Target’s decision to eliminate its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments [is] a move that threatens economic opportunities, mentorships, and hiring initiatives for Black professionals and businesses.”
More information about the boycott can be found at TargetFast.org.
Nationwide rollback of DEI initiatives
The first month of the second Trump administration has offered a right-wing interpretation of civil rights. This new administration is advocating a nationwide rollback of DEI initiatives, and many of the largest corporations in the country have responded to this call.
On January 20, Trump signed Executive Order No. 14173, formally titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” The new directive requires federal agencies and companies seeking government funds to eliminate programs or worker initiatives related to “environmental justice” or “equity action plans.”
One section of the directive explicitly points out that “Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 (Equal Employment Opportunity), is hereby revoked. … The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs within the Department of Labor shall immediately cease:
(A) Promoting ‘diversity’;
(B) Holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking ‘affirmative action’; and
(C) Allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.”
Companies like PayPal, 3M, Disney, Chipotle, General Motors, GE, Intel, Pepsi, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Google have reportedly made changes to their hiring practices or rewritten the language used in their investor relations to show compliance with the new White House directive.
But the one company whose change of heart has really touched a nerve is Target.
“Target announced Jan. 24 that it would conclude the DEI goals previously set to increase Black employees’ representation and advancement, improve Black shoppers’ experiences and promote Black-owned businesses,” the Associated Press reported. “The company plans to stop submitting reports to external diversity surveys and named Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index as an example. It is also ‘further evaluating our corporate partnerships to ensure they are directly connected to our roadmap for growth,’ according to a memo posted on its website.”
After the Minneapolis, MN police killing of George Floyd in 2020, Target –– whose corporate headquarters are in downtown Minneapolis –– had been at the forefront of promoting diversity programs. Now, the corporation has terminated its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) program, which it had created to help it set goals that would help it support Black Americans.
The economic fast comes on top of other boycott efforts already announced against Target. Minnesota-based activists in the Racial Justice Network (RJN) spoke out against the retailer on January 30, they called for a nationwide boycott against Target to begin on Feb. 1. During their rally, one speaker talked about how big corporations use prison labor to produce the products sold at discount stores like Target. After cutting up her Target shopping card in front of the crowd, she asked, “Where is Target’s moral compass? There is no moral compass. And they tried to front to us after the George Floyd situation by implementing some of these ideas. But, did they really implement the initiatives – or did they just do it for show?”
Nationwide boycott of Target stores
“As you can see,” said RJN’s Nekima Levy-Armstrong, “We have very legitimate reasons for calling for a nationwide boycott of Target stores beginning on February 1st of this year. Contrary to some of the remarks from some of the Black business owners who are asking people to come into Target during Black History Month and only buy their products, we are asking people to go on their websites and buy directly from those Black companies because Target will not see a single one of our Black dollars, not even during Black History Month. That is how we will honor our ancestors and the people who came before us and the people who paved the way for what it truly means to fight against racism, white supremacy, and oppression.”
The press release for the Pastor Bryant’s TargetFAST declaration acknowledges that “This boycott will significantly impact many Black-owned and Black-supported brands currently sold at Target, including: Mielle Organics; Tabitha Brown’s Home & Kitchen Collection; The Doux Haircare Products; Black Girl Sunscreen.
“While these brands are important to Black consumers, the economic FAST underscores a greater issue –– corporate commitments to racial equity should not be conditional or temporary. Target’s rollback of DEI initiatives sends a message that Black economic participation is welcomed only when it serves corporate interests, rather than being honored as a long-term commitment to equity and inclusion.”
The Target Corporation did not respond to an AmNews request for a comment on the boycotts of its stores by press time. The company did, however, tell the Minessota-based online news site Bring Me The News that it is still “creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests, and communities through a commitment to inclusion.