Target CEO Meets With Rev. Al Sharpton Amid Mounting Pressure After DEI Pullback

Target has felt the heat since it canceled its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In the beginning, the company was standing firm on its decision. Now, however, the company is doing all it can to stop the financial hemorrhaging amid public criticism and calls for a boycott.

According to Fast Company, Target CEO Brian Cornell met with the Rev. Al Sharpton last week, at Cornell’s request, to “discuss the company’s DEI stance and commitment to the Black community.” Sharpton has been launching protest campaigns against companies that roll back their DEI efforts, which has resulted in these companies reconsidering and, in some cases, reinstating them.

Although Sharpton hasn’t issued a formal boycott of Target himself, he has backed campaigns by others urging consumers to avoid the retailer, per CNBC.

“You can’t have an election come and all of a sudden, change your old positions,” Sharpton told the outlet last week in an interview before the meeting. “If an election determines your commitment to fairness then fine, you have a right to withdraw from us, but then we have a right to withdraw from you.”

He also indicated that he may urge a boycott of Target if the company fails to reaffirm its support for the Black community and commit to partnering with and investing in Black-owned businesses.

According to Fox News, Sharpton described the conversation with Cornell as “very constructive and candid,” and he promised to “inform our allies, including Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant, of our discussion, what my feelings are, and we will go from there.”

Target’s Lent Boycott

Black faith leaders first encouraged the boycott of Target in March, at the start of the season of Lent.

“We’ve got to tell corporate America that there’s a consequence for turning their back on diversity,” said Bishop Reginald T. Jackson at the time. “So let us send the message that if corporate America can’t stand with us, we’re not going to stand with corporate America.”

Religious leaders at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic Black church in Washington, D.C., initiated the boycott. The boycott began on March 3, Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and the 40 days of prayer and penance that lead up to Easter.

“If our diversity is not good, our money isn’t good,” Jackson, bishop of the AME Church’s Second District, told his parishioners.

Target’s foot traffic decreased 9% year-over-year in February and 6.5% in March, according to Placer.ai analysis. These declines are consistent with a substantial dip in consumer confidence in February.

Latino buyers have recently joined the Black community in boycotting Target, launching what the group calls the “Latino Freeze” against the retailer. According to NBC Bay Area, Michael Galvez, founder of the Latino Freeze movement, has urged shoppers of Latino ancestry to spend their hard-earned money elsewhere now that Target has reversed its DEI practices.