Some Consumers Are Beginning a 40-Day Boycott of Target Over Its DEI Policies

Target has become such a ubiquitous and beloved retail chain that there are plenty of people in America who have built their entire personalities around it. Now, there's a movement to boycott the retail chain for the next 40 days, beginning on March 5.

Following the news that this boycott was brewing, many wanted to better understand what motivated it, and who is calling for consumers to boycott the stores. Here's what we know.

The boycott movement was started by Rev. Jamal Bryant, a prominent Atlanta-area megachurch pastor who pushed for the boycott over the company's recent rollback of DEI policies.

“We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their back on our community,” Bryant told CNN.

Target first announced on Jan. 24 that it was ending hiring goals for minority employees and disbanding an executive committee focused on racial justice.

The company instead launched a new diversity initiative, saying that it was still focused on “creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests and communities" even as they felt the need to stay “in step with the evolving external landscape.”

Target is one of dozens of major corporations to take similar steps in the days after Trump's inauguration, likely because of threats from his administration and pressure from right-wing activists.

Although plenty of companies rolled back their initiatives, Target is under more pressure because it had been more actively involved in DEI efforts in the past, and because its customer base tends to be more progressive than that of a company like Walmart. The company spent years advocating for itself as a progressive employer, and the rollbacks were seen by many, including the daughters of one of the company's founders, as a betrayal.

This formal boycott comes after evidence suggests that foot traffic into Target stores has already slowed in response to the DEI rollback, and as the company deals with the rollout of tariffs that are likely to raise prices on many of the goods they sell in stores.

This slowing in foot traffic is likely partially attributable to informal boycotts, and now that a more formal one is rolling out, the impact could be even larger.

These kinds of boycotts are explicitly designed to put pressure on businesses, and given the tumult that Target is already facing, it could be at least moderately successful. Already, several companies have reversed their stances on abandoning DEI, or affirmed that they will continue DEI measures in spite of the Trump administration's policies.

While Target's business woes aren't just attributable to the DEI rollback, this boycott is designed to send the message that explicit diversity efforts are good for business. That means that the more widespread it is, the more effective it's likely to be. Of course, with the tariffs now in place, it's possible that people would be going to Target far less frequently than they were anyway, just to save a little bit of money.