- Some Americans have promised to boycott companies that dropped their DEI policies.
- A pastor in the Atlanta area is encouraging his congregation to “fast” from Target for 40 days.
- The timing of the boycott aligns with Lent, which started on Wednesday.
Thousands of people have committed to boycotting corporations in the name of now-defunct diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that companies have dismissed since President Donald Trump’s rise.
Now, some are boycotting in the name of the Lord.
Jamal Bryant, the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church outside Atlanta, is calling on his congregation to “fast” from Target this Lenten season, which began Wednesday. Christians who observe Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, typically do so by fasting or giving something up.
“Lent is a holy season of prayer and is about sacrifice,” Bryant told Business Insider. “So not only are we picketing with our pocketbooks, but partitioning with our prayers.” Bryant said Target has “put consumerism over decency.”
Target did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Target announced in January that it would be rolling back several DEI initiatives. Some Target shoppers were outraged that the company followed the lead of several others that have dismantled their DEI policies, many of which were bolstered in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
During his first week back in office, President Donald Trump promised the end of DEI programs in the federal government and reversed a 1965 order that barred government contractors from engaging in employment discrimination. Many major companies were quick to pull back on their diversity programs to remain in the good graces at the White House.
About 1 in 8 Target shoppers is Black, according to a data analysis from Numerator, which assesses retail consumers.
“The way that the Black community has had brand loyalty to Target, but them to not express that same loyalty to our community,” Bryant said, “we felt was a slap in the face.”
Bryant started a pledge to encourage people to fast from Target, and he said 110,000 people have signed on thus far. Those who commited to the fast received a digital directory of Black businesses they can support instead, Bryant said.
“People are still spending,” he said. “They’re just being more mindful about where they spend and how they do it.”
