Target’s decision to discontinue its DEI programs is not being well received by some.
Labor advocacy group We Are Somebody and a popular metro Atlanta pastor pastor are both advocating for a boycott.
“There’s power in our purchase,” Nina Turner, a progressive political leader and founder of We Are Somebody, a worker advocacy group, told CNN Business. “We should not spend a dime at Target stores. It’s not lost on me that Target is headquartered where the George Floyd uprising happened. How quickly they forget and reverse course.”
New Birth Baptist Church Dr. Jamal Bryant wants 100,000 people to sign a petition and not shop at the store.
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“He called the congregation to spend the 40 days of Lent, which begins on March 5, in a boycott of the company,” according to Fox 5. “The delay in the ‘fast’ was so that Black-owned businesses sold at Target could move their inventory and not be impacted as strongly.”
Those who participate would have access to the National Black Chamber of Commerce's digital directory of 300,000 Black-owned businesses to support instead of Target, Bryant says.
Others appear unsure of an immediate boycott.
“The NAACP released a statement saying it is talking to Target about its diversity plans,” according to CNN Business. “Rev. Al Sharpton’s group, the National Action Network, will conduct a 90-day review of companies before potential decisions on a boycott.”
But not everyone sees the value in a boycott. In fact, some Black-owned companies and entrepreneurs say they would lose revenue and consumer exposure, which would harm the brands more than the retailer.
“Consumers who want to boycott Target should instead spend their dollars on products from Black-owned businesses at the retailer, said April Showers, founder and chief executive of toy, apparel and home goods brand Afro Unicorn, which has been sold at Target since 2022,” according to USA Today.
Meanwhile, Target has been sued for allegedly concealing the risks of its diversity and social initiatives.
"In a proposed class action lawsuit filed Friday, shareholders led by the City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund in Florida said Target defrauded them into paying inflated prices for its stock and unknowingly supporting management's ‘misuse of investor funds to serve political and social goals,’” according to Newsmax.
It was filed after Target said on Jan. 24 it would end DEI initiatives this year.