#NNPA BlackPress

Target Boycotts and its Effect on Both Sides of the Black Dollar

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The sentiments of this Target employee highlight a key issue: while boycotts send a clear message to corporations, they can also inadvertently harm small Black businesses and working-class consumers.

Published

2 months ago

May 2, 2025

Oakland Post

By Dr. Patrise Holden, Washington Informer
Special to Black Press USA

Black and Hispanic street vendors, positioned along the street in front of Target, expressed worry that decreased foot traffic from sustained boycotting will affect their ability to make a living, and possibly put them out of business. (Photo/Dr. Patrise Holden)

Signs in hand, on April 19th, a small crowd of about 10 people gathered in front of the Target at 14th and Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC. Voices raised, as part of a three-day economic blackout from April 18 to April 20, the crowd marched while urging Black and Hispanic shoppers to refrain from purchasing from Target, which has been criticized for its stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Ongoing national boycotts launched as a protest against Target’s cessation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, have ignited a powerful economic and cultural conversation and corresponding action from Black communities across the nation. Backed by spiritual and community leaders, including Pastor Jamal Bryant, who initiated a 40-day fast from shopping at Target, the movement has drawn national attention. The goal is to harness the power of Black dollars to demand respect, representation, and equity.

Boycotts Heighten Economic Stress for Many African Americans

While many celebrate the boycott as a bold stand for economic justice, its ripple effects have been complicated, especially for many within the very community that it is meant to empower. Emmy award-winning host, actress, and multi-NAACP Image Award winner Tabitha Brown, who has partnered with Target on several successful product lines, expressed concern in a January 2025 livestream over the long-term effects of the Target boycott on Black-owned businesses. “As disheartening as it is for me, I am not the only one affected by this. It is for so many of us who worked so very hard to finally be seen. Contrary to what the world might tell you, it has been very hard for Black-owned businesses to hit shelves,” said Brown.

Under immense pressure from boycott participants to pull their products from Target and Walmart shelves, Brown sought to educate the public gently regarding the finances and logistics required to pull products from national stores. “You have to have a place to store it, another place to sell it, which is almost impossible sometimes. Even if you sell online, it’s a process, and everyone does not have the availability or the space to house their own products.” Employees within the company are also feeling the strain. A middle-aged African American female Target worker at the 14th and Columbia location, under anonymity, said, “Although this location has not seen reduced traffic due to the boycotts, I have colleagues in other Targets that have had their hours cut due to low sales. Some Targets have had to lay off workers, and yes, a high number of these workers are Black. Black mothers and Black families are trying to work hard to feed their kids. We can’t say we are uplifting the Black dollar and impoverishing working-class people at the same time.”

The sentiments of this Target employee highlight a key issue: while boycotts send a clear message to corporations, they can also inadvertently harm small Black businesses and working-class consumers. African Americans shopping during the active Target boycott expressed frustration, indicating that they cannot afford to buy from multiple independent Black-owned vendors online, each with separate shipping costs and separate delivery dates and times. A young African American couple, six-month-old baby in hand, related, “In theory, I support the boycotts. I’d love to do it because control of Black dollars uplifts our people. But I have two children and limited transportation,” said the mother. “I honestly don’t have the money to pay online separate shipping fees and lose the savings of Target sales and specials, which would not be available by buying from each individual website.”

Boycotts: Celebrated Yet Questioned by Small Vendors and Many Consumers

The Target boycott has been undeniably successful in raising awareness and showing the collective power of the Black dollar. However, many African Americans say that it is essential to strategize more to ensure that economic protests do not unintentionally weaken the very ecosystem that it seek to empower. “For us to move forward, the movement doesn’t start with Target. When we focus within, lasting change from without always follows. I am for the boycotts, however, when we focus on us as a collective internally, I think the path to widespread, sustainable change becomes more attainable. Through it all, faith in God and working on changing the men and women in the mirror is how we continue to advance as a people,” said Richard B. Lewis, 37, upon exiting Target. Uniquely located, one block from the Metro, inside a multi-story mall containing a grocery store, a large electronics chain store, two major clothing retailers, and a shoe store, the Target at 14th and Columbia experiences high amounts of diverse shoppers and foot traffic.

Street vendors, exclusively Black and Hispanic, have fought city regulations for years for the right to sell products and retail along the street in front of the corporate giant. Many vendors expressed worry that decreased foot traffic from sustained boycotting would affect their ability to make a living and possibly put them out of business. Miss Carol of My Virtue, a handbag and accessory vendor, said, “As entrepreneurs, many of us Black vendors depend on foot traffic and sales from customers shopping at Target. People who don’t even plan to shop with us become return clients because of the convenience of having so many diverse vendors right here outside the store. Revenue loss from decreased Target sales could mean financial ruin for many vendors out here.”

Understanding the devastating loss of revenue to vendors, small and large, Brown continued in her January livestream, “Businesses who were affected by DEI, you take all our sales and they dwindle down, and then those companies get to say, ‘oh your products are not performing,’ and they can remove them from the shelves.” When sales dip, companies re-evaluate shelf space. If Black-owned brands underperform, they can be quietly pulled from stores. In six months to a year, we could see a whitewashed version of Target and Walmart, places where Black retailers fought for decades to get representation, disappear overnight. Brown emphasized, “Sometimes, that is what they want, and in times like this, they are telling us that.”

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

4 days ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

Published

4 days ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

Published

4 days ago

July 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”