In the wake of corporations scaling back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Black activists, clergy, and consumers are turning to boycotts for economic resistance. Major companies, including Target, Disney and Wells Fargo have quietly retreated from commitments made after the racial reckoning of 2020, sparking frustration and calls for accountability. But do Black-led boycotts have the power to effect lasting change?
Why are companies retreating?
For many companies, the retreat from DEI programs is often attributed to political pressure, financial concerns and shifting corporate priorities. Conservative pushback, including lawsuits challenging race-conscious programs, has made some companies cautious. Others cite economic downturns as a reason to deprioritize DEI funding. But for many Black consumers, these shifts feel like broken promises.
“Corporations saw DEI as a public relations strategy, not a core value,” says Houston business analyst Angela Matthews. “Once the heat died down, many chose to scale back. That’s where consumer power comes in.”
Target Fast
Target once touted its commitment to DEI, a promise that seemed particularly important to a company headquartered in the city where the police killing of George Floyd set off a wave of protests around the world. In 2022, the company set a goal of making a financial commitment of more than $2 billion to Black-owned businesses by 2025 and to have more than 500 Black-owned brands in its stores. The company has said it was on track to meet its goals.
That was until Trump. Now, Target has joined others in scaling back its DEI efforts. The move prompted one of the most vocal calls for a boycott. On February 1, a national boycott of Target launched to coincide with Black History Month.
Clergy across the country, including Pastor Jamal Bryant of Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, are calling for a 40-day boycott of Target beginning March 5, during the Christian observance of Lent.
“Black people spend $12 million a day at Target,” Bryant said. “If 100,000 people pull their spending, the financial impact will be real. We have to send a message.”
“We’ve got to tell corporate America that there’s a consequence for turning their back on diversity,” added Bishop Reginald T. Jackson. “So let us send the message that if corporate America can’t stand with us, we’re not going to stand with corporate America.”
Tabitha Brown, a Black entrepreneur whose lifestyle brand launched multiple collections at Target, took to Instagram to express her disappointment in calls for a boycott.
“I’m not the only one affected by this,” Brown said. “So many of us—Black, women-owned businesses—worked hard to be in retail. When a corporation steps back, it impacts us all.”
“As disheartening as it is for me, I’m not the only one affected by this,” said Brown, who has dropped multiple collections with Target since 2022, from swimwear to home goods to haircare to cookware to food. “I’m not the only one affected by this.
“It’s for everyone who is a woman-owned business, minority-owned businesses, Black-owned businesses,” she said on Instagram. “It’s for so many of us who work so very hard to be placed in retail, to finally be seen and approved for retail because, contrary to whatever the world might tell you, it has been very hard for Black-owned businesses to hit shelves.
Those who are calling for a boycott say Brown and others need to take their businesses online. Brown, however, pushes back on that line of thinking.
“Everyone does not have the funds or the means or the availability, the space, to house their own products,” Brown said. “But the thing that concerns me the most, if we all decide to stop supporting said businesses and say, you know, ‘I can’t buy nothing from there.’Even the businesses who were affected by the DEI ban, what that does is 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 and then put their preferred businesses on the shelves.”
“Taking our business out of the store is not that simple,” added April Showers, founder of Afro Unicorn, a Black-owned brand sold at Target. “When our sales drop, companies can claim our products aren’t performing and remove them entirely.”
“I understand the desire to boycott, but it’s going to hurt a lot of Black businesses,” said Victoria Christopher Murray, whose book “The First Ladies” was a Target Book of the Year. “Target is a major distributor of Black books. When those sales are gone, it will have a minimal blip on the Target radar and leave tons of Black entrepreneurs in its destructive wake.”
Economists believe strategic boycotts can be effective, considering Black spending power is over $1.8 trillion.
“Boycotts can force corporations to listen—if they’re sustained and well-organized,” Matthews said.
Research supports this. A study from the Kellogg School of Management found that boycotts don’t necessarily need to hurt sales to be impactful. Instead, they succeed when they generate negative press and shift public perception.
The power and limitations of boycotts
Black consumer activism has historically yielded results. The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955–56 desegregated public transportation, and more recently the backlash against brands like Gucci and H&M led to public apologies and increased DEI commitments.
However, not all boycotts succeed. Some fizzle due to lack of coordination or unintended consequences.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network have also organized “buy-cotts,” directing supporters to companies like Costco, which has upheld its DEI commitments.
Meanwhile, the NAACP is tracking corporate compliance with DEI pledges and urging Black consumers to support brands that honor their promises.
Influencer Danisha Carter recently criticized short-term boycotts.
“Staging a boycott for three days just tells the company to move money around temporarily,” she said in an Instagram video. “We need longer commitments.”
The People’s Union USA, a grassroots movement advocating for economic resistance, argues that collective action over time is key.
“If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message,” the organization stated. “But sustained action is where real change happens.”
John Schwarz, the founder of The People’s Union, has complained about oligarchy, Elon Musk and the rollback of DEI efforts after President Donald Trump ended them.
“How did we get to a point in this country where one billionaire — one billionaire — has more control over our government, our infrastructure and our economy than most politicians do?” he asked in an Instagram post.
Will boycotts work?
With companies rolling back DEI initiatives under conservative pressure, the NAACP urges Black consumers to support brands that remain committed. The civil rights group is tracking which companies honor their promises—and which don’t — as calls for economic resistance grow.
However, not all boycotts have succeeded. Some have unintended fallout, especially for Black-owned brands stocked in major retailers. When Nike faced conservative-led boycotts over its support of Colin Kaepernick, Black business owners selling Nike products saw their sales impacted, as well. Some have fizzled due to lack of coordination or unintended consequences, like harming Black employees and entrepreneurs who rely on these corporations for their livelihoods.
While corporate America’s retreat from DEI disappoints many, it has also ignited a renewed commitment to Black economic independence. Entrepreneurs like Carlton Mackey, founder of the Black Men Smile movement, believe the backlash presents an opportunity.
“If big brands won’t back us, we have to double down on our own communities,” Mackey said. “Resistance must lead to revolution.”
Malik Johnson, a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 company, sees both sides.
“I work for one of these companies and advocate for change from within,” Johnson said. “Boycotting could threaten jobs and erase progress made internally. But I also understand why people are frustrated.”
Pastor Bryant points to recent revenue loss due to McDonald’s and Starbucks boycotts as examples of how the boycotts can succeed.
“You’re seeing a great awakening in America, and corporate communities are going to have to really show their responsibility,” he said.
Upcoming Boycott Dates:
- Target: March 5 – April 13 (40-day boycott)
- 24-hour spending blackouts: Feb. 28, March 28, April 18
- Amazon: March 7 – 14
- Walmart: April 7 – 13
Alternatives to Boycotts
While Showers says she understands the desire to speak with your dollars, she urges people to find alternative approaches.
“If you do want to purchase our product and you still want to support us in these retailer stores, you can walk into these stores and purchase our products only and walk out. Those numbers will still hurt. It’s very complicated. And I hate the fact that we are fighting about how to support Black businesses. We have a man in leadership who has this attack on words like diversity, equity and inclusion. So many people are missing that – why do people even care so strongly and passionately that we should not be diverse, there should not be equity and there should not be any inclusion?” she said.
Supporting Black Vendors & Holding Companies Accountable
- Invest in Black-Owned Businesses – Shift spending to Black-owned brands and services while supporting Black entrepreneurs within major retailers.
- Demand Transparency – Use social media and direct engagement to ask corporations where their DEI dollars are going.
- Hold Leadership Accountable – Write to executives, join shareholder meetings and track progress on racial equity commitments.
- Support Black Employees – Instead of blanket boycotts, uplift Black workers inside corporations by advocating for fair policies.
Successful Black Boycotts
- Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, sparking a boycott that lasted 381 days. Over 90% of Black residents participated, and the boycott caused the bus company to lose millions of dollars. - Birmingham boycotts
In the 1960s, boycotts, sit-ins, and marches in Birmingham, Alabama caused businesses to lose millions of dollars. This forced business owners to integrate, which then pressured politicians, judges and law enforcement officials to do the same. - Greenwood, Mississippi boycott
In 1964, Black shoppers boycotted downtown businesses for 20 months. This boycott led to legal changes to the city’s hiring practices. - Revlon boycott
In 1986, a national boycott was held against Revlon after the company’s executive claimed that Black-owned beauty companies were inferior. The boycott led to Revlon apologizing and divesting from apartheid South Africa.
Let the People Be Heard
We asked Black consumers if they believe boycotts are effective.
“It’s so many companies at one time it’s hard for people to keep up or know who is and who is not on the list. It’s like turning a fire hose on but trying to spread it out over so many places it’s not as effective. Then there are the people who don’t hear about it, don’t know, or don’t plan to do it.” – Vanessa Davis Griggs
“We need a clear strategy and plan because some people may not realize that many Black and minority employees work at Walmart and Target. Boycotting these stores could be counterproductive, as the very people we aim to protect could face job losses if sales decline.
Another option: strategize and flood the Republican Congress with letters, emails, and phone calls, urging them to protect the rights of the people and safeguard democracy—even if it means standing up to the executive office.” – Sheila Goss
“I’m not shopping where I’m not celebrated. Not so much to punish but to preserve money. I’m buying products from Black vendors if I need something. Because this is looking like a long and protracted battle. Target doesn’t need my money. Walmart doesn’t need my money. I do. So I’m shopping for necessities only for as long as possible. That means groceries. Boycotts work if people stick to them.” – Landis Lain
“I think they would definitely still work, especially if it’s going to affect a company’s bottom line (money). It’s just getting Black folks to buy into boycotting. We don’t seem to have the fight in us that our ancestors had. Some of us are so privileged now that we can’t be asked to not shop at places like Target and Walmart. For some, it’s too much of an inconvenience. I’ve seen Black folks on my timeline saying they’re still going to shop wherever they want and they don’t care about DEI.” – Noelle Green
“It’s a different time, a different day. Boycotts don’t work as much as bad press. Boycotts are meant to hit their bottom line. With us representing such a small part of the population (now the 2nd largest minority group and soon to be 3rd) very little chance of us affecting the bottom line. Bad press crosses color lines. Also, who do you boycott? Do people quit their jobs, too? In the past, boycotts worked because we weren’t hurting Black people too much. Not many had jobs in these places. But now. We’d destroy Black businesses and not touch the white bottom line. We make changes with our votes more than with boycotts.” – Victoria Murray
“I don’t believe we are armed with enough information to boycott effectively. Target, Walmart – There are Black entrepreneurs who have contracts with those stores. Without knowledge of the contract details, we take the chance of destroying the entrepreneurs’ business. You can certainly purchase directly from the entrepreneurs’ website but frequently there are non compete clauses in place, quantity clauses, access to distribution, etc. Many say purchase directly from the owner’s website. If we all purchase via the website, can the owner manage distribution? Does the contract include terms for unpurchased goods? Does the owner have to purchase back what doesn’t sell in Target? Does Target receive a percentage of items carried that are purchased directly from the owner.” – Phyllis Darden-Caldwell
“Boycotting really only hurts the working class, not the rich owners.” – Marsha Cecil
“Boycotts don’t work because too much of the stuff we need to survive are produced by “bad” people/companies. We boycott them, we starve and go naked.” – Jason Frost
“History has shown that when we come together we can make things happen! We must never forget that. Boycotting will work; however, so will consistently supporting our own.” – Donielle Chase-Mercer
Companies continuing to support DEI
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Delta Air Lines
- Costco
- e.l.f. Beauty
- Procter & Gamble
- Sephora
Companies rolling back DEI
- Accenture
- Amazon
- Boeing
- Brown-Forman
- Chipotle
- Coca-Cola
- Disney
- Deloitte
- Ford Motor Co.
- Goldman Sachs
- GM
- Harley-Davidson
- Home Depot
- John Deere
- Kohl’s
- Lowe’s
- McDonald’s
- Meta
- Molson Coors
- PepsiCo
- Starbucks
- Target
- Toyota
- Tractor Supply
- Walgreens
- Walmart
