40-day ‘Target Fast’ underway to boycott Target DEI rollbacks
Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant, leading the “Target Fast,” urges Target executives to restore DEI policies, hoping the boycott forces a reversal.
- Multiple boycotts targeting large retailers are planned for spring and summer.
- The boycotts are primarily focused on companies that have rolled back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
- A three-day economic blackout is scheduled for April 18-20, coinciding with Easter weekend.
- Other boycotts targeting specific companies like Walmart, Target and Amazon are ongoing or planned.
- Organizers encourage consumers to support local businesses and those that maintain DEI initiatives.
A three-day spending blackout at big box stores is happening soon. More economic protests are planned through the spring and summer. Organizers are calling on companies to bring back diversity, equity and inclusion policies or change other stances.
Advocacy groups are encouraging more people to vote with their dollars, and it started with a nationwide 24-hour economic blackout of major corporations on Feb. 28. A 40-day spending freeze at Target is ongoing through Lent until the week of Easter, and a seven-day Walmart spending freeze ends soon. A weeklong boycott of Nestlé products also wrapped up on March 28.
When President Donald Trump took office in January, he immediately started rolling back DEI at the federal level while encouraging a larger culture shift. Multiple companies, like Walmart, Lowe’s and Meta have dropped their DEI programs.
The NAACP is urging people to shop with Black-owned businesses and others that still have DEI programs.
John Schwarz, the Chicago man who formed the People’s Union USA, said their boycott list through July 4 is available online, but more events are still to come. He’s encouraging people to organize locally to help support businesses and schools in their communities. He called it a citizen’s union in an April 9 Instagram post.
“This is not just about economic resistance anymore. It’s about community elevation,” he said.
Protest organizers from multiple groups are mostly targeting major brands that have stopped DEI work, hoping to show them that shoppers want to support brands that help women, minorities, the disabled and veterans. But some protests, like against Nestlé, focused on other issues.
Economic Blackout 2.0 is in mid-April, and some stores already were set to close for one day during the protest window.
Here’s what Mississippi shoppers should know about the upcoming three-day spending boycott at major retailers; ongoing protests of Walmart and Target; which stores are closing for a day; and other economic protests planned across the country this spring and summer.
When is the three-day economic blackout?
The People’s Union USA is calling for its second economic blackout on April 18, 19 and 20.
What we know about Economic Blackout 2.0
The three-day economic spending freeze will include the weekend of Easter.
The group encourages people to cut as much spending as possible at brick-and-mortar stores and online. Avoiding big box retailers is the main goal. “WE SHUT IT DOWN. WE ARE THE ECONOMY.” one flyer reads.
The movement wants shoppers to only support local businesses for those three days.
Will stores stay open for the spending freeze?
Some major shopping, hardware and grocery stores close for Easter, which syncs up with the spending blackout.
Stores that will close Sunday, April 20, include:
- Target.
- Costco.
- Sam’s Club.
- Lowe’s.
- TJ Maxx.
- Marshall’s.
- HomeGoods.
- Macy’s.
- Nordstrom.
- Nordstrom Rack.
- JCPenney.
- Kohl’s.
- Belk.
Walmart and Home Depot will be open on Easter Sunday.
What we know about the weeklong Walmart boycott
The Walmart blackout is running Monday, April 7, through Monday, April 14, and is targeted at all Walmart stores, affiliated brands and store brands.
“Now it’s time to hit even harder. Walmart is one of the biggest beasts in the game. A mega-corporation that has swallowed up local economies, crushed small businesses, underpaid their employees, and helped fund the same political machine that keeps us all stuck,” Shwartz wrote on his website.
The People’s Union is asking people to avoid shopping at Walmart online or in stores, Sam’s Club location and using services like Walmart+ or MoneyCard.
He also wants people to skip buying their private label food and other products:
- Great Value: Food and home/cleaning supplies.
- Equate: Health products.
- Mainstays: home products, kitchen goods, appliances and furniture.
- George: Clothes.
- Parent’s Choice: baby and kid products.
How many Walmart stores are in Mississippi?
Walmart has one fulfillment center, three distribution centers and 86 retail locations in Mississippi, according to the company website.
They include:
- 65 Supercenters.
- 3 Discount Stores.
- 10 Neighborhood Markets.
- 7 Sam’s Clubs
- 1 Pharmacy.
The company employs about 25,640 associates in the state, and it collected about $468.9 million in taxes for the stat in fiscal year 2024. Walmart pays about $97.6 million in taxes in Mississippi.
What we know about the 40-day ‘Target fast’ boycott
The Target boycott was organized by Atlanta Pastor Jamal Bryant and other faith leaders. They encourage people to avoid shopping at the major retail chain for the duration of Lent. They also ask investors to sell off their Target stock.
It started on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and is encouraging people to skip Target through Thursday, April 17. Additional information is available at targetfast.org.
Consumers to boycott companies retreating from DEI. Here’s what we know.
Consumers are planning to boycott certain companies retreating from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
How many Target stores are in Mississippi?
There are Target locations in six Mississippi cities, according to its store directory.
What boycotts are coming up?
The People’s Union boycott will include different companies throughout the spring and into summer, according to USA TODAY. A new, broader economic blackout will be on April 18-20 and a third is set for July 4.
More boycotts and other actions are planned throughout the coming months. Organizers hope to gain momentum after other smaller-scale protests. An Amazon boycott was March 7-15. The Nestlé one ran March 21-28.
Most of the protests argue that the businesses should reinstate DEI polices.
But Schwarz listed multiple reasons for targeting the Swiss company in a March 17 Instagram video. Among other reasons, he cited the corporation continuing to use child labor in chocolate production. It also has drawn criticism for the low prices it pays for the water it uses when communities, like Flint, Michigan, need affordable, clean water.
Here are more brand boycotts the group is planning:
- Walmart: April 7-14 and May 20-26.
- General Mills: April 21-28.
- Amazon: May 6-12.
- Target: June 3-9.
- McDonald’s: June 24-30.
Social media posts — using #LatinoFreezeMovement and #LatinoFreeze — have also encouraged Hispanic consumers to “hold your money” to make statements about DEI initiatives, National Institutes of Health funding and immigration actions.
National Action Network asks PepsiCo to bring back DEI or face boycott
The National Action Network, founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, has encouraged support of Costco, which has kept its commitment to DEI.
On April 4, Sharpton announced he was giving PepsiCo leadership three weeks to meet and discuss their decision to drop DEI and threatened a later boycott.
Earlier this year, the company said it was ending minority representation goals in its workforce.
The brand includes many products, more than just Pepsi sodas, such as Mountain Dew, 7Up, Gatorade, Quaker and Frito-Lay chips.
Contributing: Cailey Gleeson, Alex Perry, Mariyam Muhammad, Rea Li, Gabe Huari
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
