Rev. Jamal Bryant, an Atlanta-based pastor, launched a nationwide 40-day boycott of Target retail stores on March 5 in response to the retailer’s decision to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion program. When George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, Target launched REAC H (Racial Equity Action and Change) and pledged to invest $2 billion in Black-owned businesses by December 2025, but in January of 2025, one of President Donald Trump’s first official acts was to eliminate DEI in the federal government, and then Target, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and other companies announced the termination of their own DEI programs. Rev. Bryant called for a boycott of Target for “dishonoring” their 2020 pledge, despite the fact that Target has supported diversity since 2005. According to Target’s 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report: Target stores hire and develop employees that reflect their local, diverse communities. Diversity has been one of our company’s strengths, and it will remain an important aspect of our business strategy. Over time, Target discovered that they were expanding diversity in low-wage occupations. The 2015 Demos/NAACP report titled The Retail Race Divide: How the Retail Industry is Perpetuating Racial Inequality in the Twenty-First Century found a significant underrepresentation of Black and Latino retail workers in supervisory roles. Black workers comprised 11% of the workforce but only 6% of managers. However, Black and Latino retail workers were overrepresented in cashier positions, which are the lowest-paid jobs in retail. The Demos/NAACP report concentrated mostly on Wal-Mart. However, when Wal-Mart raised pay to reduce turnover and improve service, Target felt obligated to do the same. In 2016, transgender rights became a major issue in the United States. Target stated, “Inclusivity is a core belief at Target.” Target allowed transgender staff and customers to use any restroom or dressing room that matched their gender identity. Target’s Workforce Diversity Report for 2019 stated that 50 percent of their workforce was comprised of people of color, with more than half (58%) being women. Nearly half (42%) of Target’s leadership team was made up of women, while nearly a quarter (24%) were persons of color. Furthermore, one-third of the board of directors were women, and nearly half were Black or Latino. In 2020, George Floyd was killed ten minutes away from Target’s headquarters in Minneapolis. In response to national calls for social justice, Target pledged $100 million to support Black-led nonprofits and provide scholarships to students attending HBCUs. Target also pledged to increase its Black workforce by 20% in three years and take other steps to “advance racial equity.” In 2021, Target reported that Black representation increased by nearly 25% among its officers in addition to progress across all salaried level positions, and in 2022, Target was recognized by the Executive Leadership Council, a prominent organization of global Black CEOs, for its “outstanding commitment to achieving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” By 2023, Target’s Workforce Diversity Report said that 43 percent of its employees were white, while 56 percent were persons of color—15 percent Black and 31 percent Hispanic/Latino. Following Floyd’s murder, not only did Target pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, but Target also planned to add more products from 500 Black-owned vendors to their stores, and it’s Black entrepreneurs, whose brands are stocked by Target, that have expressed the most concern about Rev. Bryant’s 40-day boycott. According to The Conversation, “Tabitha Brown, whose products range from books to cooking appliances, urged customers to reconsider their boycott of Target. Withholding their dollars, Brown insisted, will hurt Black businesses far more than the corporation that sells their products.” Melissa Butler, founder of the startup beauty brand Lip Bar, also stated that the boycott could harm Black-owned businesses. “In our eight years at Target, the relationship has been great, and we have grown a lot,” Butler said. “Target has historically been a brand champion for small businesses, women-owned businesses, and Black-owned businesses.” Butler also added, “Just because Target is scaling back their DEI commitments doesn’t mean it is going to be ending relationships with businesses owned by people of color.” These Black entrepreneurs faced criticism on social media. Some Black consumers accused Black entrepreneurs of “selling out” the racial community that contributed to their success, but these Black entrepreneurs would only be selling out “the racial community” if Target violated its 2020 pledge or terminated its DEI program in accordance with Trump’s objectives. That was not the case. Target’s 2020 pledges were not permanent. Target planned to discontinue their “racial program” in December 2025. Target announced the end of their “racial program” in January 2025, as they believed they had achieved most of their 2020 goals. However, a representative from Target stated, “As a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.” For Rev. Bryant, when the Target spokesperson remarked, “staying in step with the evolving external landscape,” it was a clear indication that Target capitulated to Trump, wiping out Target’s whole positive track record on diversity. Rev. Bryant organized the boycott against Target because Rev. Bryant believes the retail giant turned its back on diversity, equity, and inclusion because it was better for business in the new Trump era. When Rev. Bryant was asked why Target was singled out for a boycott rather than companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon, which had also discontinued their DEI programs. Rev. Bryant told the interviewer Target needed to be held accountable for abandoning DEI, and the boycott was necessary to ensure a “future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities.” The issue with Rev. Bryant’s answer is that it’s contradictory. He wants to make sure that companies like Target do not succumb to external pressure from racists like Trump, but in order to do so, Rev. Bryant is using external pressure—in the form of a boycott—at the expense of Black entrepreneurs.             The post Will Rev. Jamal Bryant’s Boycott Hit the Wrong Target? appeared first on Atlanta Daily World. ...read more read less