Social justice advocates are leading a 40-day boycott against Target starting on Wednesday after the company decided to eliminate its DEI policies. Although Target has been advocating for DEI programs since George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the company changed its stance after President Donald Trump took office in January.
With its decision to eliminate DEI programs, Target is following the example of many other corporations which are bending to Trump’s policies and erasing initiatives designed to increase hiring opportunities for minorities, CNN reported. Target, which appears to be facing more backlash than other companies after undoing its DEI programs, announced that it’s shifting to a new strategy called “Belonging at the Bullseye.”
The company, according to CNN, said it’s “creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests and communities ” while “staying in step with the evolving external landscape.”
The Lip Bar CEO Melissa Butler said her product and other minority-owned businesses could be affected as the store now faces backlash.
“We don’t want these minority businesses to suffer or to be impacted negatively,” Butler told CNN.
Rev. Jamal Bryant, an Atlanta pastor who is leading the boycott against Target, said it’s disappointing to see the company turning its back on Black people, who have been frequently shopping at the store for years.
“Black people spend upwards of $12 million dollars a day, and so we would expect some loyalty, some decency and some camaraderie,” Bryant told CNN. “We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their Back on our community.”
A Target spokesperson told CNN that the company is still committed to inclusivity and supporting minority businesses. Still, the company has seen a significant drop in customer visits in the past month while facing backlash and other challenges caused by economic polices. Joseph Feldman, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, told CNN that there has been “a clear drop in traffic in late January into mid-February following the company’s step back from DEI.”
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Target CEO Brian Cornell shared that the store is facing a decline in sales as Trump’s tariffs on Mexico forces the company to increase the prices of fruits and vegetables.
“We’ll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days,” Cornell told CNBC, per CNN.
