hen in January 2025, President Donald Trump called for the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) related initiatives within federal agencies, he extended the call for private companies to do the same. As a result, many companies from Amazon to McDonalds have pulled their DEI policies from their websites and announced rollbacks.
Jamal Bryant, Pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia extended his own call in response. He urged Christians to sign a petition urging a 40-day Target boycott, or fast, in response to the enforcement and compliance with Trump’s initiative.
“We’re going to break the spirit of racism and sexism. The spirit is encroaching back into our community, back into our country and back into our corporations who are intending to take us back into the 1950s.”
Target may have been first on Bryant’s list because its retreat from DEI is highly contradictory to its previous statement of support of it in 2021. That’s when the company pledged its solidarity with the black community after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“Target’s committed to co-creating an equitable future for all… and today, we’re proud to announce we’re investing $100 million through 2025 to help fuel economic prosperity in Black communities across the country. We’ll do it by supporting local, Black-led organizations to ensure that resources are specifically designed for the communities they serve,” (Target, 2021).
The corporation also committed to increasing black representation in stores in regards to employees and products by 20%, “building on the initial $10 million commitment we made in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.”
Now, however, corporate communications signal a cooling off in corporate social justice fervor. “Throughout 2025, we’ll be accelerating action in key areas and implementing changes with the goal of driving growth and staying in step with the evolving external landscape… Current actions include: Concluding our three-year diversity, equity and inclusion goals… Concluding our Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives in 2025 as planned.”
Bryant continued, “What I am asking for is a quarter of a billion dollars to be invested in Black banks so that our Black businesses can scale. Target has 10 distribution centers near HBCUs, and I’m asking them to partner with the business departments of these institutions.”
African Americans spend more than $12 million at Target, and “because of how many dollars are spent there and the absence of commitment to our community,” Target is the first place to begin in getting our economic power back.
According to the Charlotte Post, Bryant’s fast has made a dent in Target’s traffic and bottom line to the tune of $12.4 billion. He plans to call for many more boycotts from other companies.
Also, some businesses did not support the boycott. April Showers, founder of Afro Unicorn, urged her customers to continue shopping at Target to ensure black-owned businesses remain valuable and viable.
As consumers, it is important to know where our dollar is valued. Yet, we must think about the effects our actions have on those we are trying to help. If you are interested in viewing the petition, you can find it at targetfast.org.