August 16, 2025
Ever since Target eliminated its DEI initiatives, Black people have been standing on business by not shopping at the retail giant.
Target is facing its sixth consecutive month of declining store visits. July foot traffic was down 3.9 percent compared to last year, according to Placer.ai.
The decline follows a wave of customer backlash due to Target’s rollback of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Foot traffic dropped nearly 8 percent overall at the big box store. The corporation’s stock declined from $145 to $93 a share in 2025. This slump erases as much as $12 billion in market value, signaling the effectiveness of the boycott’s reach and potency.
“We are really committed to building a team that represents our guests,” Target’s former human resources chief had said in 2020 when DEI was ramping up. However, the subsequent rollback of DEI initiatives sparked swift outrage. Earlier this year, Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church organized a “40-day Target Fast,” urging Black shoppers to divert their spending in response to Target abandoning its post–George Floyd DEI commitments. The reversal of the company included abandoning a pledge to invest $2 billion in Black-owned businesses. In a CNN interview, Bryant addressed the retreat in values, pulling no punches.
“Black people spend upwards of $12 million a day, and so we would expect some loyalty, some decency and some camaraderie.”
As part of his effort, Bryant hosted in-person boycotts on key dates like the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.
“It is so critical and important that corporations recognize and respect the Black dollar and our consumer power,” he said.
Bryant has now turned his attention to Dollar General. Earlier this year, he launched what he calls a digital protest.
“Target is canceled since they have betrayed and walked away from our community, and we’ve gone on from there. We’re done with Target, and then our next focus will be around Dollar General,” he told USA Today.
Unlike with Target, Bryant is avoiding a full boycott, noting Dollar General’s role in underserved “food desert” communities. He’s urging instead that in urban areas, consumers flood the corporation with digital calls to action.
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