More Than 100,000 People Are Boycotting Target For Lent

More than 100,000 people have pledged to boycott Target for 40 days in protest of the company’s rollback of DEI initiatives.

The boycott, which began on Wednesday, March 4, was organized by Pastor Jamal Bryant. According to The Washington Post, the movement spans cities including Atlanta, Houston, Jacksonville, Florida, and Alexandria, Virginia.

The “Target Fast” occurs simultaneously as Lent, when some Christians commit to fasting and will be the latest boycott against one of the biggest retail companies in the US.

Why are people boycotting Target?

In January, Target announced that it was scaling back its diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In a memo shared with employees, the company said it will end its three-year DEI goals, conclude its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives in 2025, and end a program focused on carrying more products from Black—or minority-owned businesses.

Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Kiera Fernandez, chief community impact and equity officer at Target said in the memo, viewed by CNBC.

Part of Target’s DEI goals was to expand Black representation by 20%. Now, the company hosts several small independent Black-owned brands stocked at Target. So, Target received backlash from many people in the Black community, including Black-business owners.

The 40-day fast from Target

Pastor Jamal Bryant is urging Black consumers to engage in a 40-day boycott from the retailer. So far, 111,00 people have signed up to take part, including names like Revs. Marcus D. Cosby of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston and Howard-John Wesley of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria.

Those involved in the fast will also sell their stock and abstain from shopping at Target stores, choosing to spend their money at Black-owned businesses instead. According to Bryant, they’ve partnered with US Black Chambers to give boycotting consumers a digital directory of around 300,000 businesses that they can support instead of Target. Consumers can also monitor their spending in an app.

“I think that this is going to be not an event, but really a movement around enterprise and around small business and around Black businesses, all the more that I think will change the trajectory of the economy of Black people,” he told The Washington Post.

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