Donald Trump’s plan to rid America of diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just a callously racist policy, but it’s also not economically prudent as one major brick-and-mortar retailer is starting to learn.
According to RetailBrew, Target held a quarterly earnings call on March 3 where it was revealed that their quarterly sales had declined by over 3%. Executives on the call were hopeful that stores would see a boost in sales during the Easter season as people rush to buy candy, cards, toys, and other items in keeping with the nauseating American history of holiday-as-commerce.
“We had record sales [for] Valentine’s Day,” Rick Gomez, Target’s chief commercial officer, said during the call. “That bodes really well for Easter. So we are encouraged by that and looking forward to Easter.”
Source: Paras Griffin
However, what those executives failed to realize was that their abandonment of DEI would lead to backlash from the Black community and other marginalized groups who have taken Target’s reneging as a personal affront. A grassroots organization called Target Fast was initiated by Atlanta church leader Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Target Fast asked the community to boycott the store for the entirety of Lent, which lasts 40 days from March 5 until April 17. The goal was to get 100,000 to commit to the boycott, and at this time, more than 150,000 have made that promise. More than a month of reduced sales in major markets like Atlanta and beyond could significantly boost the score on that 3% decline.
Here is part of the outfit’s mission statement as outlined by their official website TargetFast.org:
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.
Target Fast asks that boycott participants to shop instead at Black-owned and ally-owned businesses to keep the money in the communities that will need it most as their economic lives are put at further risk by the Project 2025 agenda.
