Politics

One concrete step being advocated by many mainline Black denominations is the boycott of Target during Lent, from March 5 through April 17. “We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their back on our community,” the Rev. Jamal Bryant said in an interview with CNN. Bryant, who is leading the boycott, is the pastor at an Atlanta-area megachurch.

Target was previously a major advocate of DEI programs as well as LGBTQ+ issues. But after Trump’s executive orders vilifying DEI, it was particularly quick to backtrack.

Bryant says that 140,000 people have signed up at targetfast.org, which has also taken off on TikTok. Here’s how the group explains its thinking:

In recent days, we have witnessed a disturbing retreat from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives by major corporations—companies that once pledged to stand for justice but have since chosen the path of compromise. These rollbacks represent more than just corporate decisions; they reflect a deeper erosion of the moral and ethical commitments necessary to build a just society. As people of faith, we cannot be silent. We are called to resist systems that perpetuate exclusion and inequity.

And leaders of some of the largest Black denominations in the country will be in Chicago on Thursday, Politico reports, to announce a campaign to call out companies that have dumped DEI. So stay tuned.

It is, of course, not only Black church leaders who are resisting and urging resistance.