After targets away from diversity programs, Civil Rights Activists encourage a boycott

Minneapolis (AP) – Civil Rights activists gathered outside the headquarters of Target Corp. Thursday to call for a national boycott of the retail giant over his decision to phase out its diversity, justice and inclusion initiatives.

Target announced last Friday that it would join competitor Walmart and a number of other prominent US brands in the downscaling of their DEI initiatives, which have been attacked by Conservatives and the new White House by President Donald Trump.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a veteran civil rights lawyer in Minneapolis and founder of Racial Justice Network, joined other local activists and their supporters at a news conference to encourage people to start the boycott on Saturday, the first day of Black History Month. Many of the participants were regular target buyers so far, she said.

Levy Armstrong said they were “stunned” that goal, which increased his commitment to building a more diverse workforce in the wake of the police’s killing of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis by 2020, supported away from his support for racial justice.

Read more: Target says it ends its DEI goals and programs, citing a ‘developing external landscape’

“We thought they would keep the line. We thought they would continue to stand for the values ​​that we all keep loved ones, ”she said. “But instead, they traded Feige and they made the decision to bow to the Trump administration. We are here today and say we are not bending. We do not step back and we will not turn around. “

Jaylani Hussein, CEO of the Minnesota Chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations, said that as a company with a base in the city, where Floyd’s murder triggered a national bill with racial injustice, the goal must be called.

“We here in Minneapolis today, the good people in the state, say to our friends across the country, ‘If you were moved to do something good after the murder of George Floyd, it’s time for you to get up and boycott goals, ‘”Hussein said.

The organizers of the boycott include local Black Lives Matter groups. Under the Boycott message, some speakers cut their distinctive red target charging cards, while others urged DEI supporters to shop at Costco, who confirmed his commitment to DEI last week.

Despite anger with Target, the news conference-facing-rally took on a festive atmosphere, with a New Orleans-style brass band playing protest songs like Bob Marley’s “Get up, get up.” Participants circled a prayer before the speakers began.

Target, who was long regarded as a strong spokesman for the rights of black and LGBTQ+ people, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday at the invitation to a boycott. But in a memo for employees last week, Kiera Fernandez, Target’s main community’s influence and equity, described the company’s decision to draw its diversity goals as a “next chapter” in the company’s human resource and customer engagement strategy.

“And as a retailer serving millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in steps with the developing external landscape, now and in the future,” she wrote.

Read more: Trump -Administration ends the government’s diversity programs and aims at DEI nationwide

Levy Armstrong said Target has not reached her or other local black leaders. She said they expected more from Target, and now it feels like everything it had done to support people in color was just window dressing. The starting point for any conversation, she said, would be for the company reverse its decision right away.

“Target knows what its presence and its commitment to diversity, justice and inclusion mean to this community,” said Levy Armstrong. “So that’s why we first focus on goals. But that does not mean that these other companies should not also be held responsible. All of these companies need to be held responsible and they should not have access to our dollars. “

Speakers also called for a long time established civil rights groups that have benefited from Target’s philanthropy, such as NAACP and Urban League, to participate in the opposition to Target’s decision. Levy Armstrong and Hussein said they are planning to cooperate with other national organizations to get the word out about the boycott and take other steps that they were not yet ready to share in public.

Ever since the calls for a boycott began circulating on social media, the founders of several black -owned companies selling their products in target stores or through the company’s online platforms have expressed concern that a broad boycott could hurt them. They included owners of hair care brands Doux and Camille Rose and Cosmetics Brand Lip Bar.

The organizers of Minneapolis said that black consumers and their white allies can continue to support these companies while cutting the target.

“We ask people to go on their sites and buy directly from these black companies because Target won’t see a single one of our black dollars,” said Levy Armstrong.