The announced “end” of the nationwide Target boycott was supposed to mark a new chapter in the ongoing fight for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in America. Instead, folks on social media are apparently more divided than ever over whether there should be an end to the boycott at all. Now, a few boycott organizers are finally addressing the fallout.
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As we previously told you, Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Tamika D. Mallory, activist and co-founder of Until Freedom, and Nina Bryant, former Democratic State Senator from Ohio and founder of We Are Somebody, gave updates about the boycott on March 11. But while they technically never announced the end of the Target boycott, Pastor Bryant spoke on Friday (March 13) to clarify the confusion.
“I’ve heard your emphatic outcry that it wasn’t just about those four [boycott demands], but Target– in the community’s estimation– was a prime candidate for cancellation,” he said. “I made assumptions that were not true. and I wanted to apologize to you for being a leader that’s out of touch… Let the record reflect and show that it was Black women that started this movement.”
Dozens of companies, including Target, fell in line after President Donald Trump took a federal ax to DEI at the beginning of his second term. Despite Pastor Bryant confirming that three of the four original boycott demands were met, many folks online weren’t ready to forgive and forget.
“Uhhh is Target walking back everything and rejecting all of Trump’s policies towards the negro community and other people of color? If not then people will and must continue to boycott,” actor Telvin Griffin wrote on the app.
The boycott began in February 2025 under the leadership of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Black activist and lawyer. Since then, several versions of the boycott, including the one championed by Bryant, Mallory and Turner, have resulted in millions of folks refusing to do business with Target.
“I aint been to Target in so long. I thought i would miss it but i really dont. Im not going back in there. F**k em,” @MrGee54 tweeted.
Still, many Black people online celebrated that they could head back to Target with a clear conscience.
On X, @rodimusprime asked, “We can go back to Target?!”
Others suggested Black leaders should focus their energy on more important issues.
“I used to be a stickler about this but idc who does or does not fr,” @meechofalltrade said. “Target is the least of fish to fry.”
But not so fast! Activist Armstrong penned a letter to Target’s CEO on March 11 declaring that the national boycott is indeed still active.
“None of these individuals are founders of the National Target Boycott, nor were they authorized to speak on behalf of the grassroots organizers and consumers who launched this movement in Minneapolis and sustained it across the country,” Armstrong wrote.
“The authority to end this boycott does not belong to individuals who did not start it” she added. The company reportedly lost over $12 billion as a result to the boycott, as we also told you.
Other folks online shared Armstrong’s sentiments, saying they have no plans to return … no matter who says differently.
“Our boycott was faith-based? Not for me … My boycott was respect-based. Still ain’t going,” actress Tracie Thoms said.
Black folks still boycotting also had similar smoke for companies like Papa Johns, whose CEO took issue with the Affordable Care Act back in 2012.
“I haven’t had a slice of Papa Johns since dude slander Obama, I will NEVER step foot back in Target. F**k’em!!” @SE_DC_4life declared.
Notably, boycott organizers Sen. Turner and activist Mallory doubled down on canceling Target in light of the confusion.
“The work of holding corporations accountable, including Target, continues,” Mallory wrote on Instagram. “I do not believe that any one group can call off a grassroots led boycott, and I personally will not be returning to Target.”
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