Rev. Jamal Bryant is calling for a 40-day Target ‘fast’ during the month of Lent
Renewed calls to boycott Target arrive as Trump’s tariffs threaten price increases expected to be felt as early as this week.
A little over a month after Target announced it was scaling back its DEI initiatives and amid potential price increases due to Trump’s tariffs, a fresh call for consumers to boycott the retailer is kicking off.
On Wednesday, Atlanta-based pastor Rev. Jamal Bryant spearheaded a 40-day consumer “fast” or boycott of the Minneapolis-based big box chain during the month of Lent, which begins on March 5 and runs through April 17.
“We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their back on our community,” Bryant told CNN.
Speaking about the boycott with Fox 5 Atlanta, he said, “Black people spend on average $12 million a day in Target, so with that large of a consumption pie, we need to be treated with a great decibel of respect.”
Bryant has partnered with the Black Chamber of Commerce and OurMoneyUnited.com to launch the 40-day Target Fast. In addition to foregoing shopping with the retailer, the boycott calls on supporters to sell their Target stock.
“I want the stock to go down because we are standing in righteous indignation against racism and sexism in this nation,” Bryant told Fox 5 Atlanta, adding, “We are going to break the spirit of white entitlement. We are going to break the spirit of racism and sexism.”
The boycott comes as consumer traffic has already shown signs of slowing for the retailer in response to Target’s January 24 memo announcing a step away from its DEI efforts. Since January, there have been many different calls to boycott Target, along with the dozens of other major corporations and brands who have made similar moves away from DEI.
On Friday, February 28, a complete economic boycott led by John Schwarz was held. While the results of the economic boycott remain unknown, Target hasn’t recovered from the slip that began in January.
Fox 5 Atlanta reported that in the last month, Target’s stock has dropped more than 13% from $135.21 to $117.14 a share. Investors are also suing the retailer. Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs may lead the big box chain to raise prices.
Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC on Tuesday that Trump’s tariffs on Mexico may cause the company to raise prices on produce, and consumers may feel that as early as this week.
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