Consumer boycotts target DEI divestment, but are they working? What we know.
Consumer boycotts have targeted companies like Amazon and Target that have scaled back their DEI efforts, but are they having any effect? Here’s what we know:
A year-long boycott of Target by national consumers over Target’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion rollback is ending without any changes to the retail giant’s policies.
One boycott leader told USA TODAY the decision came after “productive” conversations with the retail giant and its CEO Michael Fidelke.
The Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, said in an exclusive interview that the boycott has made great progress and will continue to hold Target accountable to Black shoppers, employees and the community.
But documents provided to USA TODAY by Bryant’s organization show Target did not make concessions or reverse changes the company made to DEI and other policies after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
Ebony Porter Icke, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bryant, confirmed that there were “no new commitments or cancellations.”
Bryant said he is pleased Target remains committed to DEI.
“They have a program called Belonging that gives anyone access to move up into the C-suite, not just entry-level positions,” he told USA TODAY. “As I read it, this is essentially DEI. It’s exactly the same thing.”
In a statement to USA TODAY, Target said it is “more committed than ever to creating growth and opportunity for everyone.”
“We are pleased to move forward and will continue to serve as a trusted neighbor while delivering results for our team members, guests and the more than 2,000 communities we serve,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Because when those communities thrive, we thrive.”
Other boycott leaders said they had no intention of abandoning their efforts. Target “failed to meet the core demands of the boycott, including restoring and strengthening its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, fair contract practices, and accountability to the communities that helped build the company’s brand,” Target said in a press release.
DEI pullbacks hurt the target
Target, once one of the most vocal supporters of Black Americans, joined a major retreat from DEI policy shortly after President Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating “illegal DEI” in the federal government and private sector.
Target said it needed to increase Black employee representation, reverse efforts to support Black-owned suppliers, and keep pace with the “evolving external environment.”
Racial equality emerged as a top priority for the retail giant after the killing of George Floyd a few miles from its Minneapolis headquarters in 2020, including a pledge to increase the number of Black employees across the company by 20%. Another program focused on directing Target’s business to more Black suppliers.
At the time, Target said it remained committed to creating a “sense of belonging” for its employees and customers “through our commitment to inclusion.”
For a retail giant that has long profited from supporting Black communities and Black-owned brands, the backlash was immediate. Widespread protests erupted from church pastors and other community activists, including Bryant, over Target’s decision to end its employee and supplier diversity programs.
The impact of the DEI boycott caused a sharp setback in consumer spending in the first quarter of 2025.
“Why did we choose Target in the first place? And the answer is, squarely, that Target was the only person we invited to the cookout,” Bryant said at a March 11 press conference announcing the end of the boycott.
Target turning away from its DEI efforts “felt like it wasn’t just an abandonment of DEI, it was a betrayal of DEI.”
Nationwide targeted boycott still continues
Bryant was not the first to call for a boycott of Target.
Racial Justice Network founder Nekima Levy Armstrong, Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty, and CAIR Minnesota executive director Jaylani Hussein launched a boycott last February over the retailer’s DEI rollback and its promise to spend more than $2 billion to Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025. The boycott of that target is now in its second year.
“Today, we make clear to the nation and the leaders of our targets that the boycott continues. Consumers in this country will continue to use their economic power until meaningful commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is restored,” Armstrong said on March 11.
The People’s Alliance launched a series of boycotts against retailers, including Target, through much of 2025, starting with a one-day economic blackout last February. But People’s Alliance founder John Schwartz told USA TODAY on March 10 that the group is not focused on boycotting individual companies.
“The developments we’ve really seen are broader. People are becoming more intentional about where and how they spend their money,” Schwartz told USA TODAY.
How the target got stuck in the crosshairs
Companies across the country are rolling back DEI programs to avoid scrutiny from the White House. Diversity goals were raised to advance Black workforce and leadership positions. Our supplier diversity program has been rebranded to no longer consider race or gender.
DEI’s withdrawal put Target in a difficult position as it was a vocal supporter of DEI.
Following calls for a boycott from shoppers, Bryant launched Target Fast on March 5, 2025, to coincide with the start of Lent. Bryant told USA TODAY that he is trying to re-engage with the Black church, which has “previously stayed largely away from political conversations.”
Bryant’s boycott made four demands on his targets: He called on Target to deliver on its promise to invest $2 billion in Black businesses. Deposit $250 million in 23 Black-owned banks. Opening 10 retail training centers at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). And it is reversing its January decision to end some of the company’s DEI commitments.
Bryant said Target has moved forward on three of the four requests. The demand for deposits in Black-owned banks is still unmet, and Bryant said his group is connecting Target with Black-owned banks and hopes to get them “crossing the finish line.”
Target said it would make good on its $2 billion pledge to Black businesses “soon.”
Bryant also said Target is working on a pilot program with HBCUs to offer job readiness and internship programs, and that the effort will eventually expand to a total of 12 institutions.
Will Target shoppers return?
Bryant said more than 300,000 people have signed a pledge on Target Fast’s website to boycott the company.
A group of protesters picketed Target stores in Washington, D.C., every Saturday during the boycott to prevent people from shopping there.
It remains to be seen whether those shoppers will return.
Increasingly, shoppers of all political stripes are brandishing their wallets en masse to make their beliefs known at the checkout counter. However, consumer boycotts have a mixed track record. Although conservative activists have successfully put pressure on Target and other companies, many such efforts have not resulted in sufficient economic barriers.
“It takes 30 days to create a habit, it takes a year. The responsibility for that falls on the shoulders of the target and what it is that target brings people back,” Bryant told USA TODAY. “Many people have figured out how to live life without them.”
At a press conference in Washington, D.C., civil rights activist Tamika Mallory and We Are Somebody founder Nina Turner said the boycott is ending, but the fight is not.
Mallory said Fidelke acknowledged in internal meetings that Target’s DEI rollbacks harmed Black employees and customers, but has yet to take public responsibility.
“My mother also wants an apology, but she doesn’t work at Target. So we sat across the CEO table and asked Mr. Fidelke, ‘When are you going to acknowledge the harm that you’ve caused to the Black community outside of an employee meeting?'” she said.
In the meantime, Black Americans will have to decide for themselves whether they want to return to shopping at Target, Turner said.
“I’m not encouraging people to shop at Target,” she said. “Ultimately, people have to make their own decisions. But when it comes to me and my home, I have no intention of going back to Target.”
This story has been updated with new information.
