Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, has called for a 40-day boycott of Target stores nationwide, beginning March 3, in response to the company’s recent decision to dismantle its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Dropping its DEI programs is a slap in the face to Black consumers, Bryant said, considering that they are a large part of Target’s consumer base.
“We are going to break the spirit of white entitlement. We are going to break the spirit of racism and sexism,” Bryant told his megachurch during the February 2 Sunday service.
The Atlanta pastor emphasized during his sermon that confronting Target over the company’s decision to roll back its DEI programs was a “spiritual” matter, citing Mark 9:28-29 and Matthew 17:19-22. In those passages, Jesus tells his disciples that they would only be able to defeat a particular demon by “prayer and fasting.”
Bryant specifically called on “prayer warriors” who know that “the power of prayer can change some things” to play their part.
Citing the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the megachurch pastor said the yearlong boycott revealed that “racist America doesn’t respond to speeches. They respond to dollars.”
He invited conscientious Christians of all races and ethnicities to join in the Target Fast.
Bryant’s call for a 40-day fast from spending money with Target and holding its stock is outlined on the website targetfast.org.
“This Lent, we will begin a corporate fast, starting with Target, as a spiritual act of resistance,” the website reads. “Just as Jesus overturned the tables in the temple, challenging the exploitation and hypocrisy of his day, we too must disrupt business as usual. Fasting is not just about what we abstain from — it is about what we embrace. By redirecting our resources toward businesses that uphold justice, we embody our commitment to God’s vision of equity and love in action.”
Instead of spending money with Target, Black consumers are encouraged to direct their dollars to Black vendors. Through a partnership with the Black Chambers of Commerce, a digital business directory for 300,000 Black businesses would be sent to participants.
The Target Fast website further explains that the call for a boycott is for accountability and justice, and “for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities.”
Four demands on the website call for Target to:
- Honor the 2 billion dollar pledge to the black business community through products, services, and black media buys
- Deposit 250 million amongst any of our 23 black banks
- Completely restoring the franchise commitment to DEI
- Pipeline community centers at 10 HBCU to teach retail business at every level
The Target Fast centers around the Christian Lenten season, which runs this year from March 5 to April 17. The 40-day Lenten period includes prayer, fasting, and giving that Christians observe in preparation for Easter, which marks the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is usually a time of self-denial and reflection about Jesus’ sacrifice and the hope Christians believe he offers.
According to Fox5Atlanta, Target “announced on Jan. 24 that it would be ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.”
Target, which reportedly runs about 2,000 stores and has more than 400,000 employees, revealed it would be dropping its DEI programs just two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government and private sector.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include four demands listed at targetfast.org.
