Target Faces Massive Boycott for Dropping DEI
Black faith leaders have called for a 40-day boycott of retail giant Target for dropping its DEI initiatives.
Several Black faith leaders are urging members of their congregations to boycott Target in protest of the company’s decision to scuttle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The retail giant joined a host of other corporations in dropping pro-diversity programs and initiatives in response to threatened boycotts by conservatives and a larger backlash against so-called “wokeness” in the wake of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency.
Jamal-Harrison Bryant, the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, sparked the calls for the most recent boycott.
Bryant has urged members of the Black faith community to start a “40-day fast” — coinciding with the liturgical season of Lent, when some Christians choose to abstain from certain pleasures or vices — from shopping at Target, effective as of Wednesday, March 5, which marked the start of Lent.
Organizers of the boycott have launched a website, Targetfast.org, to promote the 40-day action and enlist additional participants.
The website notes that Black consumers spend over $12 million per day at Target, and urges members of the Black faith community to leverage that buying power, while also sending a message to Target that its rightward shift is unwelcome.
Bryant has called Target’s heel turn a “slap in the face” to Black consumers.
“The fact of the matter is that Target made a pledge to our community after the killing of George Floyd of [investing] $2 billion into Black business[es] and when the administration changed, they disavowed as if it never happened,” he told USA Today. “The pledge was never made under DEI or affirmative action. It was out of decency and to humanity. To walk away from it is insult to injury.”
The boycott, originally aimed at enlisting 100,000 Black Americans, has already surpassed its target in terms of people who have signed a pledge not to shop at Target and has been gaining attention on social media. Those who sign the pledge will receive a digital business directory from the Black Chamber of Commerce that lists 300,000 Black-owned businesses deemed more worthy of consumers’ support, as well as a 40-day prayer journal.
Participants in the boycott are also encouraged to sell off any Target stock they own.
Organizers hope to extract promises from Target, including honoring its previous $2 billion pledge to support Black-owned businesses, depositing $250 million among 23 Black banks, restoring its DEI programs and initiatives, and creating community centers at 10 historically Black colleges and universities to teach retail business at every level.
Bryant says that the 40-day period is currently a benchmark but could be extended in the future, depending on the impact of the boycott and the company’s reaction to the loss of business.
The “40-day fast” comes during a tough time for Target, which recently reported that sales had dropped slightly in February.
While it’s still too early to cite a definitive cause, other groups of consumers and activists have been engaging in broader one-day boycotts against a host of brand-name companies that have dropped DEI programs. (Target was specifically targeted for a one-day boycott on February 28.)
Additionally, Target is currently facing a separate boycott from activists in Minnesota, where the company’s headquarters are located. It began on February 1, coinciding with the celebration of Black History Month.
The company has additionally received some negative press, even being barred from Twin Cities Pride, a Minneapolis and St. Paul-based Pride celebration in which it has historically participated to demonstrate support for the LGBTQ community.
According to Placer.ai, a software company that tracks foot traffic data for major corporations, foot traffic at Target stores has dropped 9% during the month of February, with other companies who have rejected DEI initiatives, such as Walmart, Best Buy, McDonald’s, and Starbucks also experienced a decrease in foot traffic during the same period.
By comparison, Costco — which infamously earned the wrath of conservatives for defeating a proposal to drop DEI — has seen an increase in foot traffic of 2.2% in February, following a 7.9% increase in January, when it first urged shareholders to reject the proposal.
In a press release announcing its drop in sales, Target largely attributed the decrease in economic activity to “consumer uncertainty,” as well as fears over how tariffs may impact the prices of goods.
Target’s chief financial officer, Jim Lee, also blamed “uncharacteristically cold weather” for affecting apparel sales, according to NBC.
As part of efforts to scuttle DEI, many companies also agreed to stop supporting LGBTQ causes, participating in Pride events, and participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, an external survey that analyzes how LGBTQ-friendly a company’s employment policies and employee benefit packages are.
Findings from an analysis by Collage Group, a research and product development firm, found that 58% of LGBTQ consumers have already reduced, or plan to reduce, their spending with brands that have eliminated DEI efforts.
That analysis also found that one-third of consumers stopped shopping at their favorite stores because of political stances taken by the company, and that Black and LGBTQ consumers specifically are more likely to support brands that support diversity and inclusion.
Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, noted that Target has already been experiencing some backlash, including decreased business from members of the LGBTQ community, for removing Pride displays and merchandise from several of its stores.
“Capitulating to baseless attacks like Target did does nothing to help companies, consumers, or the U.S. economy,” Ellis said in a statement. “Target may blame cold weather for declining profits, but at the end of the day, they need to look inward. Now is the time for corporate leaders to lead.”
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