Target boycott continues say local organizers

While some media outlets are reporting an end to the national Target boycott, the organizations that initiated the campaign say otherwise. 

Nekima Levy-Armstrong (center) talks during a Target-related boycott event this past spring along with Jaylani Hussein (left), executive director of CAIR-Minnesota, and co-founder of the Target boycott

Nekima Levy-Armstrong, one of the initial individuals calling for a boycott of the Minneapolis-based retail giant due to its abandonment of DEI policies, said despite some prominent national voices saying the more than year-long effort has ended, that’s not the case. 

The Rev. Jamal Bryant, an Atlanta-based pastor, announced at a National Press Club briefing that the boycott had ended, saying, "we have other fights that we've got to see and other things that we've got to tackle.” Activists Tamika Mallory and Nina Turner echoed Bryant’s claim, but Levy-Armstrong and others in the Twin Cities say it’s not their call to make and say Target still has not submitted to the demands of initial organizers. 

“This boycott began right here in Minneapolis as a grassroots response to corporate retreat from justice,” said Levy-Armstrong in a statement. “Today we are making it clear to the public and to Target’s leadership: the boycott continues. Until meaningful commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion are restored, consumers across this country will continue to use their economic power.”

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota and co-founder of the boycott, said the boycott has proven effective and now is not the time to declare victory without getting what the community is calling for. 

“What we are witnessing is the power of organized communities. Target underestimated the resolve of people who believe corporations must stand for something more than profit. This latest attempt to end the boycott is a sign that the boycott is shaping up to be the most successful boycott in recent history.”