One concrete step being advocated by many mainline Black denominations is the boycott of Target during Lent, from March 5 through April 17. “We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their back on our community,” the Rev. Jamal Bryant said in an interview with CNN. Bryant, who is leading the boycott, is the pastor at an Atlanta-area megachurch.
Target was previously a major advocate of DEI programs as well as LGBTQ+ issues. But after Trump’s executive orders vilifying DEI, it was particularly quick to backtrack.
Bryant says that 140,000 people have signed up at targetfast.org, which has also taken off on TikTok. Here’s how the group explains its thinking:
In recent days, we have witnessed a disturbing retreat from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives by major corporations—companies that once pledged to stand for justice but have since chosen the path of compromise. These rollbacks represent more than just corporate decisions; they reflect a deeper erosion of the moral and ethical commitments necessary to build a just society. As people of faith, we cannot be silent. We are called to resist systems that perpetuate exclusion and inequity.
And leaders of some of the largest Black denominations in the country will be in Chicago on Thursday, Politico reports, to announce a campaign to call out companies that have dumped DEI. So stay tuned.
It is, of course, not only Black church leaders who are resisting and urging resistance.
i mean if you want to argue yourself out of ever doing anything politically efficacious i can’t do anything to stop you, but surely even in that context you realize the massive gulf of difference between “not perusing the shelves of one specific company” and “attempting to live a net-zero lifestyle”, or between “demonstrating business will be lost for taking anti-woke positions” and “attempting to stop climate change through individual action”
I appreciate your takes on this. to be clear, i generally agree with you, but I have struggled to connect morals to action. I’ve participated in plenty of boycotts, this Target one has just been harder to work around for the reasons i mentioned earlier. It’s hard when you struggle with executive function and the boycott is targeted (oof) at your go-to grocery store. Thank you for sharing your activist energy and knowledge with us.