Atlanta Senior Pastor, Rev. Jamal Bryant (of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church), is calling for a 40-day fast/ consumer boycott of Target Corporation (both in store and online) after the damage reports were released from the Feb. 28th’s nationwide economic boycott, which resulted in a whopping $12.4B loss in market value. That’s right, Target Corporation’s stock plummeted by approximately $27.27 per share since the company has shifted away from diversity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
“We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their back on our community” ~Rev. Jamal Bryant
Earlier this year (Jan. 24) Target announced they would be ending an executive committee they had in place to focus on racial justice, eliminating hiring goals for minority employees and would be making other changes to its diversity initiatives. Their announcement came just days after President Trump signed executive orders to Cease Virtually All DEI-Related Activities in the Federal Workforce, and Cancel Affirmative Action Requirements for Federal Contractors.
Many people want to know “why Target” or “why only Target” when there are so many other companies who also did away with DEI, and Rev. Jamal Bryant had some very calculated reasons, which he stated on The Breakfast Club (>>Click here for a snippet of the interview). But he is basing all his reasons on the African proverb “If you want to eat an elephant, you do it one piece at a time.”
- Target is headquartered in the same city that George Floyd was killed in.
- “Negroes” spend $12M/ day in Target.
- Target is on 27 college campuses but not on one HBCU.
- Outside of the federal government, Target is the largest employer of black people.
- Since they are publicly traded, we wanted them to see this is the impact when black people walk away.
When asked why is he calling it a “fast” and not a boycott, he stated this is a call for the black church to get active. He spoke about the rise of Black Lives Matter movement, and how it was the first movement of civil rights that was not birthed out of the church, and did not have a religious leader at the front. He says the black church is going backwards and this is the largest demographic of black people since we have been in America who don’t go to church at all, who don’t subscribe to organized religion (28%) and the largest amount of black people who self identify as atheist and don’t believe in nothing. So this is a call specifically for black Christians and we are praying. This is a spiritual warfare we are under.
The fast/ boycott also comes as Target faces pressure from tariffs and consumer pullback. Tariff uncertainty will impact profits this year and Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview with CNBC that President Trump’s tariffs on Mexico may force the company to raise prices on fruits and vegetables as soon as this week.
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