A 40-day Target boycott starts today. It couldn’t come at a worse time for the company

Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

Wed, Mar 5, 2025, 6:13 PM 4 min read

Target is facing a 40-day user boycott starting Wednesday implicit the company’s displacement distant from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

“We’re asking radical to divest from Target due to the fact that they person turned their backmost connected our community,” Rev. Jamal Bryant, a salient Atlanta-area megachurch pastor who started the boycott, said successful an interrogation with CNN.

The boycott, which begins during the commencement of Lent, comes much than a period aft Target made changes to its DEI programs and astatine a hard play for the institution arsenic it faces an onslaught of tariffs successful the mediate of a challenging economy.

On January 24, days into Donald Trump’s presidency, Target announced it was eliminating hiring goals for number employees, ending an enforcement committee focused connected radical justness and making different changes to its diverseness initiatives. Target said it had a caller strategy called “Belonging astatine the Bullseye,” which it archetypal introduced past year, and the institution remained committed to “creating a consciousness of belonging for our team, guests and communities.” Target besides stressed the request for “staying successful measurement with the evolving outer landscape.”

Target is 1 of dozens of Fortune 500 companies that person backtracked connected DEI successful effect to blimpish tribunal decisions, unit from activists and right-wing ineligible groups, and, much recently, the Trump administration’s threats to analyse what it characterizes arsenic “illegal DEI,” including imaginable transgression cases against companies. Companies are caught betwixt pursuing efforts to summation diverseness and avoiding a blimpish ineligible crackdown.

But nary institution has faced arsenic fierce a blowback from DEI supporters arsenic Target. Customers online person protested the determination and Anne and Lucy Dayton, the daughters of 1 of Target’s co-founders, called the company’s actions “a betrayal.”

Target is nether much unit than companies similar Walmart, John Deere oregon Tractor Supply, due to the fact that Target went further successful its DEI efforts, and it has a much progressive basal of customers than those competitors.

Target was a leading advocator for DEI programs successful the concern satellite successful the years aft George Floyd was murdered by constabulary successful the company’s location metropolis of Minneapolis successful 2020. Target besides spent years gathering a nationalist estimation arsenic a progressive leader connected LGBTQ issues.

“Black radical walk upwards of $12 cardinal dollars a day, and truthful we would expect immoderate loyalty, immoderate decency and immoderate camaraderie,” Bryant said.

Melissa Butler, the CEO of the Lip Bar, 1 of the largest Black-owned constitution companies carried successful Target, said connected TikTok that she was disappointed astir Target’s DEI pullback. But she worries that the boycott could wounded Black-owned businesses.