Target has apologized and stopped selling a children’s Halloween costume after widespread criticism that its design evoked racist caricatures of Black people — a controversy that is renewing questions about the retailer’s decision to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The orange-and-black circus clown costume included gloves, a small top hat and a black face covering dominated by an exaggerated, grinning mouth with large teeth. Target’s promotional images showed a Black child modeling the costume.
For many critics, the combination was immediately recognizable as imagery associated with 19th- and early 20th-century minstrel shows.
Minstrel shows were a popular form of American entertainment in which performers — often white actors wearing blackface — portrayed Black people through exaggerated and demeaning stereotypes. Characters frequently featured oversized mouths and lips, exaggerated smiles and clownish behavior. The performances helped spread racist images of Black Americans that continued well into the Jim Crow era.
Target removed the costume and acknowledged that it should never have reached customers.
“As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” Target said in a statement. “The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment.”
The company said it recognizes the incident is “especially hurtful” to Black customers, employees and partners and is examining how the costume made it through its product-selection and approval process.
But some Black leaders say the controversy raises a larger question: Who was in the room when the decisions were being made?
Nadine Smith, president of racial justice organization Color of Change, argued that Target’s retreat from DEI created a form of “corporate blindness.” Somewhere in the process, she said, people either failed to recognize the racist imagery, did not feel empowered to raise concerns or weren’t heard.
The Rev. Jamal Bryant, the Georgia pastor who helped lead a 40-day Target boycott last year, also connected the incident to diversity within the company’s decision-making ranks.
“A Jim Crow-era minstrel costume is not simply getting it wrong,” Bryant said, arguing the incident demonstrates the need for greater diversity among corporate decision-makers.
The criticism comes after Target announced in January 2025 that it was ending several DEI initiatives. The company discontinued a three-year diversity program, stopped participating in some outside diversity assessments and ended an initiative aimed at expanding products from Black- and minority-owned businesses. The company shifted instead toward what it called a broader “Belonging” strategy.
That decision prompted protests and boycotts, including campaigns led by Bryant and Minnesota civil rights activists. Target subsequently experienced declining sales and a steep drop in its stock price, although its troubles also reflected broader concerns about merchandise, pricing and the condition of its stores.
More recently, the retailer has shown signs of a significant turnaround.
Target reported last week that second-quarter 2026 net sales increased 5.3%, while comparable sales rose 3.8% and customer traffic increased 3.6%. Digital comparable sales jumped 8.7%. The company has been lowering prices, refreshing stores, adding staff and improving merchandise as part of a broader effort to win shoppers back.
Now the offensive costume has revived an issue Target may have hoped was fading: whether backing away from DEI also removed voices that could have recognized a problem before it ever reached store shelves.