Consumer Boycotts target DEI retreats—are they working? What we know.
Consumer boycotts are targeting companies like Amazon and Target, who’ve rolled back DEI initiatives, but are they working? Here’s what we know.
Target has donated $300,000 to the National Baptist Convention and two separate leaders of boycotts against the retailer are calling for the church organization to return the gift.
In separate comments, Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minnesota activist who launched a Target boycott on Feb. 1 and Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who encouraged members of the Black faith community to boycott for 40 days and now permanently stay away from the retailer, have said the acceptance by the Black church organization works against their efforts.
Both boycotts are in response to what Levy Armstrong and Bryant say were efforts by Target to turn its back on the Black community when it rolled back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
What was the $300,000 donation from Target?
A Target spokesman provided USA TODAY with a statement when asked about the donation: “We’re proud to be sponsoring NBCUSA’s conference series as one of the many ways we invest to make a meaningful impact in communities across the country by supporting access to education, economic development initiatives and entrepreneurship programs.”
The National Baptist Convention did not return an email and phone inquiry from USA TODAY seeking comment on the donation and the calls for its return.
However, in a press release provided to other media outlets, National Baptist Convention President Boise Kimber said the partnership is based on a “shared commitment to community empowerment through small-business and entrepreneur development, investments in education and student support, and workforce and skill development that unlocks growth across our communities.”
Kimber said the donation will help the church organization “provide scholarships, support senior citizens, and invest in entrepreneurship programs that uplift our people and the future.”
Black faith leader rejects donation, calls for its return
During a Sunday sermon at his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, on June 22, Bryant decried Target’s donation to the National Baptist Convention.
He accused Target, whose CEO had met with Bryant and the Rev. Al Sharpton in April, of “going around” him to the National Baptist Convention.
“Are you crazy to think we’re going to sell out for chump change?” Bryant said.
In an interview with USA TODAY, Bryant said Target’s donation to the National Baptist Convention, which Bryant said is not affiliated with his church, was actually four donations of $75,000 to Black church organizations that the National Baptist Convention received and split.
“It’s really a slap in the face and an insult,” Bryant said of the donation and the National Baptist Convention accepting the money. Bryant has called for the money to be returned to Target.
As part of his Target boycott, Bryant has made four demands, including honoring a $2 billion pledge to the Black business community that Target previously had in place, which entailed purchasing Black-owned products, services and investing in Black media. Bryant has also called for the retailer to invest in Black-owned banks, establish retail centers at historically Black college and universities and fully restore DEI initiatives.
“The black eye for us is that they (National Baptist Convention) walked away with nothing that we asked for,” Bryant said.
Target previously released a statement on May 28 in response to Bryant’s Target blackout and demands.
“Target is absolutely dedicated to fostering inclusivity for everyone – our team members, our guests and our supply partners,” it read. “In the last five years, we have: committed to invest $2 billion in Black-owned businesses and brands within five years; supported students at over 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); invested $100 million to Black-led community organizations; given scholarships to over 30,000 members of our team to advance their careers; committed 5% of our profits to the communities we operate in; volunteered millions of hours to organizations across the country and created meaningful opportunities for our team members to thrive both personally and professionally.”
Community organizer takes issue with donation and Bryant
In a separate open letter sent to the National Baptist Convention and shared with USA TODAY, Levy Armstrong, founder of the Racial Justice Network, urged the church group “to reconsider its alignment with a corporation that has caused such profound harm.
“This $300,000 payment does not heal – it deepens the wound. It appears to be a payout for silence and an attempt to regain Black consumer trust without accountability,” the letter stated.
The letter was also signed by fellow organizers Monique Cullars-Doty, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota (Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota).
The letter also took issue with Bryant, saying he was aware of the Target boycott, which started on Feb. 1, and expressed interest in joining the effort. But then Bryant repackaged the work as his own, creating a separate campaign and erasing the women’s work. The women said it was reflective of a long, painful history of Black women organizers being pushed aside.
Bryant told USA TODAY that he has honored Levy Armstrong and said from the start that he did not start the Target boycott.”
“My focus was singularly to align with the Black churches as Black churches were not involved or engaged,” he said. “I’d say everywhere from the rooftops that we were not the originators of it, but it was our intention to bring out the Black church alongside.”
This story has been updated to fix a typo.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.
