By Wyatte Grantham-Philips
NEW YORK (AP) – A 40-day boycott, which calls for supporters to give up shopping at the company’s stores during Lenten, has protested a discount retailer’s decision to end some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor at the new Baptist Church of Baptist Church near Atlanta, organized “Target Fast” (first day of Lent), which began Wednesday, as well as other faiths and civil rights leaders. A website for participants pointed out the exploitation of Black Americans and described the boycott as a “spiritual act of resistance.”
Read the message about Target Fast.org: “This is fast for accountability. Fast for justice. A future fast where businesses do not put pressure on them at the expense of marginalized communities.” “Turn your dollars into data, power, change.”
Target declined to comment directly on the boycott, which will run until April 17th. Here’s what you need to know.
What happened to the target’s DEI initiative?
In January, Target announced it would phase out a small number of DEI initiatives, including programs designed to help black employees build meaningful careers and promote black-owned businesses.
The Minneapolis-based company, which operates around 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it was planning to end the program this year, but it was announced after other prominent American companies reduced their diversity activities.
Target also said it would stop setting recruitment and promotion goals for women, racial minority groups and other underrepresented communities.
Conservative activists, and more recently, President Donald Trump’s White House, have sought to remove the federal government, schools and private workplaces of DEI policies adopted to counter discrimination. Critics maintain the scope of the goals and programs that arise from such policies, which are discriminatory and counterproductive in themselves.
Target’s rival Walmart rolled back the DEI initiative in November, but Target’s actions appeared to spark more customer anger. Many calls for boycotts have emerged across the country, including Minneapolis civil rights activists who gathered outside Target’s headquarters. One of the target’s co-founders also expressed shock and alarm.
“The surprise element is what attracted the rage of our customers,” said Akshay Rao, a marketing professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He and others point to the target’s previous message about DEI and his reputation as a strong advocate for the rights of racial minorities and LGBTQ+ people.
Target also faced a boycott call almost 15 years ago in a campaign to become governor of Minnesota, after it was revealed that the company had been donated to an organization supporting Republican Tom Emmer, who was then the opposition to gay marriage voices. Then, like now, Target received more blowback than other companies that made similar donations because their actions were against expectations, Rao said.
What is it about giving up on a 40-day target?
The organizers of “Target Fast” urged participants to stop shopping at Target and instead redirect the dollar to black-owned businesses.
TargetFast.org lists BoyCotters requests. This honors Target’s previous pledge to fully restore its commitment to DEI and spend more than $2 billion with black-owned businesses by the end of 2025.
Pastor Bryant, who spearheads the protests, told the Washington Post on Wednesday that around 110,000 people had signed up to participate. When the Associated Press contacted staff on Thursday, Bryant could not immediately make further comments.
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, announced in late January that he would identify two companies in the next 90 days when civil rights agencies are exposed to a boycott of consumers to waive their DEI pledge.
What is the impact on Target Fast?
I know the time. However, experts say boycott appeals reflect the risks companies face when making moves that could potentially alienate their customer base, particularly when opposed to past corporate messaging.
“We’re a great opportunity to experience this and create a great deal of energy,” said Americus Reed II, a marketing professor at Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s really toxic to people, especially the vulnerable communities where people trust you. … And now you’re turning around.”
A sense of betrayal can be a key motivation for customers to steal money elsewhere, Reid said. And the successful boycott added that it would need to generate enough energy to “make this into motion, not just a move.”
While targeting single companies for longer periods of time may prove effective, Reed said organizers need to provide multiple ways for people to participate.
For example, pledges to avoid large chains like Target or Walmart can be challenging for people with geographical and lacking alternatives because they can afford it. Reed says that “BuyCotts” targeting “BuyCotts” can help bridge that gap, such as trying to buy only products from black-owned brands that use large chain stocks.
Larger market pressures, such as the tariffs Trump imposed on goods from Canada, China and Mexico this week, are likely to have a major impact on target revenues in the coming months, Rao said.
Reed said whether it’s a source of helping consumers change their buying habits or helping them can be extremely difficult. Boycotts that gain traction online can sometimes come across as “visual signaling, in contrast to real change,” but still making them part of the national conversation is a big step, he said.
“Most of the time you’re inertia in your life as a consumer. And you’re just rolling, you’re clicking the Amazon button and getting yours,” Reed said. “Then something like this (boycott) appears and you are forced to confront the reality of, “OK, what am I going to do?” ”
Original issue: March 6, 2025, 5:16pm EST
