Megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant said Target’s pledge to invest $2 billion into black-owned businesses by July 31 was not enough to settle a dispute over the retail giant’s decision to scale back its DEI initiatives.
The rejection of the offer comes just days after Target CEO Brian Cornell had a meeting in New York City with the Rev. Al Sharpton who called it “very constructive.”
“This morning, I had a very constructive and candid meeting with Brian Cornell that included NAN National Board Chair Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and NAN Senior Advisor Carra Wallace. I am going to inform our allies, including Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant, of our discussion, what my feelings are, and we will go from there,” Sharpton said in a statement.
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Bryant, who leads the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, told congregants at his church on Sunday that he had a different impression of the meeting.
“Ladies and gentlemen you already have read the report that a meeting took place and in that meeting I wanted to share with you the outcome of it. We had four asks and only walked away with one thing. I want to tell you what that one thing is. Target has agreed that by July the 31st they will complete the pledge of $2 billion for black business,” he said.
“But the other three things we have no commitment on and we don’t have anything to stand on because their currency does not ride with us,” he added.
Beginning on March 5, Bryant and his church committed to a 40-day fast which included not shopping at Target. In joining the pushback against Target, the Georgia pastor accused the retail giant and other large corporations, such as Walmart, of capitulating to President Donald Trump’s push to end DEI policies that he says “undermine our national unity,” among other things.
Bryant’s boycott began as Target announced that it expected a “meaningful” drop in their first quarter profits due to “ongoing consumer uncertainty,” soft sales in February and concerns about tariffs, CNBC reported. Across the retail industry, sales were down more than expected to start 2025.
The Georgia pastor who called Target’s DEI rollback a “spit in the face of black people” insisted to his congregants on Sunday that their boycott had caused the share price of the company to tumble.
“When we started this Target fast, a trillion dollar company, a Fortune 500 company, was trading on the New York Stock Exchange at $138 a share. Because of how it is, that stridently you have put your hand to the plow, their stock started at $138 a share. As of Friday, it is down to $94 a share,” Bryant declared while erroneously suggesting that Target is a trillion company. Target shares were trading around $93 on Monday.
“Foot traffic at Target has gone down by 7.9 percent. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you will share with me in your enthusiasm for people who thought it was ineffective and there would be no results, is that because of your fast Target has lost $12 billion. Come on, y’all ought to be shouting,” he continued to applause.
“They tried to put out a statement that their loss is because of the economy, because of tariffs with China, but the reality is that while they were losing, Costco was gaining,” he asserted.
While Costco has defended its DEI policies as others like Target have cut back on theirs, it has also not been immune to the volatile market conditions. The company’s share price has trended up and down as well.
In addition to the demand that Target honors its $2 billion pledge to the black business community “through products, services, and black media buys,” the Target Fast campaign, which Bryant calls a “grassroots movement” also called on the retailer to: deposit “250 million amongst any of our 23 black banks;” restore “the franchise commitment to DEI;” and “pipeline community centers at 10 HBCU to teach retail business at every level.”
Bryant claimed that Target’s offer to commit to only one of the demands is not enough to appease the black community.
“If in all of these years we have been loyal customers and clients and then in the moment of ‘dis-ease’ you turn your back. And so, I had to share with Target that we gave you 40 days to answer four, not one. And they only came back with one. So I told them what I’m getting ready to tell you. We ain’t going back in there. And so, the fast shifts to a full out boycott,” he declared.
With more than 200,000 people already signed up for the boycott, Bryant urged his followers who had not yet joined the boycott to sign-up at targetfast.org.
Bryant said he will be hosting a townhall meeting at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday and has invited Target’s CEO to speak directly to the community but he isn’t sure if he will attend.
“I sent last night an invitation to the president and CEO of Target as well as the chairman of the board to come to New Birth on this coming Tuesday to speak to the people directly, not in a private closed meeting, but in an open venue to talk about where Target’s commitment is and where it is that we are going,” he said.
“I don’t know whether it is that the president is coming or the chair of the board is coming or anybody for that matter from Target is coming. But I need you to be here so that we plan and chart out what is our future going forward.”
He also reiterated that the Target boycott isn’t a campaign started by him or his church.
“This is a national movement, and so, as a consequence on Tuesday, I will be introducing to you what is the national committee on this Target boycott,” he said.
“I am introducing all of them by name and by organization and affiliation so that Target knows you only talk to these people. Everybody don’t represent us. … These are the people who are in agreement, in alignment with where it is that we are going and how it is that we move.”
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