LITHONIA, Ga. — A metro Atlanta pastor is now leading a national boycott against Target after a rollback of its “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity” initiatives.
Tuesday evening, faith and civil rights leaders held a town hall at Salem Baptist Church in Lithonia to discuss the next steps in the boycott.
Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church called for a spiritual fast with regards to Target in March during Lent, which ended on Easter. However, he told the people who attended the town hall that the plan is to continue the boycott.
“We are engaged in this battle because you don’t get to walk away from your public commitments to Black people and think there will not be consequences and repercussions,” Bryant said.
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Target rolled back its DEI initiatives after executive orders from President Donald Trump. Bryant said Target made pledges to invest in the Black community following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“We didn’t ask Target to make a promise to Black people, they did it of their own will,” Bryant said.
He said Target didn’t keep its promises. On Targetfast.org, it said Target lost $2 billion and its stock dropped nearly 60 percent during the Lenten fast.
“Personally, I don’t want to go back to Target,” said Nikki Porcher, who founded the organization ‘Buy From a Black Woman’. “I don’t think we should go back to Target. We are the economy. We are the ones supplying this country. When it comes to Black people, comes to Black business, we do the trends, we do the culture, we do the climate, we do it all.”
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Target’s CEO recently met with Bryant and Rev. Al Sharpton. Bryant said the meeting was a healthy start but said until Target honors its original pledge to invest in the Black community, the boycott will continue.
“I still firmly believe that our dollars can’t be taken for granted, and so until we are able to reach common ground, we’re going to stay off Target’s ground,” Bryant said.
Target isn’t the only company they’re calling for people to boycott. This website (targetfast.org) lists several companies to boycott, including Amazon and American Airlines. However, it also gives companies that people should support, like Atlanta-based Coca-Cola.
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