Year-Long ‘Target Fast’ Boycott Over DEI Initiatives Comes to an End, But Not For Black Women
Pastor Jamal Bryant has announced that the boycott of Target has ended, Bloomberg reports. Bryant called for a 40-day boycott against the retailer after it announced that it would roll back its DEI initiatives. The boycott spanned cities including Atlanta, Houston, Jacksonville, Florida, and Alexandria, Virginia. The “Target Fast” coincided with Lent, when some Christians observe fasting.
But several Black women claim that the boycott is not over. Civil rights lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong planned a boycott in Minneapolis shortly after Target announced it was scaling back its DEI efforts.
Nina Turner, the former Ohio state senator, also called for a nationwide boycott. Turner asked Tamika Mallory to help support the boycott, as stated by The 19th. Bryant also offered to help by using his church to start the 40-day “Target fast.
“Women, period, are the ones who have been the main sustainers of this boycott because we are the ones in control of our family’s discretionary income,” Levy Armstrong said. “To have a man come out of nowhere and try to call for an end to it also is a slap in the face.”
Byrant announces the end of Target boycott
Bryant said company executives shared new plans in a recent meeting to invest over $2 billion in the Black community, including support for historically Black colleges and universities and a “belonging” program focused on helping women and minority employees at Target.
“We’re pleased to be moving forward, and we will continue showing up as trusted neighbors while delivering results for our team members, guests, and the more than 2,000 communities in which we serve,” Target said in an emailed statement viewed by Bloomberg. Some leaders, such as Monique Cullars-Doty, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota, will continue the boycott.
Bryant said Target is not free from its treatment of the Black community, and he and other community leaders will watch how the company reacts to issues such as immigration.
Backlash against Bryant’s comments
Despite Byrant’s announcement, several Black women are boycotting the retailer. Target has not reversed any changes to its DEI commitments or made any new initiatives, according to USA TODAY. Organizers in Minnesota are continuing with the boycott until the key demands are met.
“Women, period, are the ones who have been the main sustainers of this boycott because we are the ones in control of our family’s discretionary income,” Levy Armstrong said to The 19th. “To have a man come out of nowhere and try to call for an end to it also is a slap in the face.”
Armstrong called for her own press conference outside Target’s Minneapolis headquarters after hearing Bryant’s announcements. “We are asking people: Continue to double down and hold Target accountable. The boycott continues,” she said at the press conference.
Image: Ben Hovland | MPR News
