An ongoing boycott against Target is beginning to show its impact. For the tenth week in a row, foot traffic in Target stores has dropped — down 9 percent year-over-year in February and another 6.5 percent in March. The boycott began during Lent, sparked by Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia.
He urged his congregation to shift their dollars toward Black-owned businesses after Target announced it was ending key diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including its REACH program and participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. That index had once awarded Target a perfect score, calling it a “Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.”
But this shift marks a dramatic departure from the company’s past, when it stood firm against backlash for Pride displays and gender-inclusive bathrooms. Meanwhile, companies like Costco, which chose to keep their DEI commitments, have seen sixteen consecutive weeks of increased foot traffic. At his Easter sermon, Bryant made it clear. For many LGBTQ shoppers, the message is loud and clear: support isn’t seasonal, and silence isn’t neutral.
