Despite the announcement that Target CEO Brian Cornell will step down early next year, leaders of the boycott against the chain say their fight must continue.
The boycott began after Target retreated from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies following Donald Trump’s inauguration. Leaders included Rev. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia and Minneapolis activists like civil rights attorney Levy Armstrong, BLM co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty, and CAIR-MN’s Jaylani Hussein.
They said they were “stunned” that Target — after pledging racial equity following George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis — reversed course and scaled back its DEI commitments. That reversal, they said, is what made Target the focus of the nationwide boycott.
“This is the most successful, effective and long-standing boycott of Black people in 70 years, since the Montgomery Bus Boycott,” Bryant said. Target’s foot traffic dropped 3.8% in July, marking six consecutive months of decline, according to Placer.ai. The company acknowledged the boycott hurt its bottom line, though tariffs and the broader economy also played a role.
COO Michael Fiddelke will succeed Cornell in February. While both groups see his resignation as proof of Black America’s economic power, they stress demands remain unmet: including a clear structure for minority advancement at Target, fulfillment of the company’s $2 billion racial equity pledge after the death of George Floyd, $250 million commitment to Black banks, plus new partnerships with HBCUs. “Progress is not the same as victory,” Bryant said.