Pastor Jamal Bryant plans for continued Target boycott after 40-day fast

STONECREST, Ga. — What started as a 40-day fast from shopping at Target has now grown into a national boycott — with Pastor Jamal Bryant at the forefront.

During Lent, Bryant encouraged his congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church to avoid shopping at the retail giant. The “Target Fast,” as he called it, was a spiritual protest in response to the company rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Now, Bryant says the fast is shifting to a full-out boycott.

“I told them what I’m getting ready to tell you — we ain’t going back in there,” Bryant said during his Easter Sunday sermon.

Bryant said he met with Target executives during the campaign and presented four specific demands. Only one was met, he says: a renewed commitment to invest $2 billion in Black-owned businesses by July 31.

The other three requests:

• Restore DEI efforts internally

• Deposit $250 million into Black-owned banks

• Establish new partnerships with HBCUs

“Four asks — and one out of four is not sufficient,” Bryant said in an interview.

He believes the movement has already had a financial impact. Target’s stock has dropped nearly $44 per share since late January, when the company first announced its DEI rollback. Foot traffic is also down nearly 8%, according to Placer.ai.

The movement sparked a new platform for Black-owned brands, as well — the Bullseye Black Market. The three-day pop-up event, held in metro Atlanta, featured dozens of vendors and encouraged shoppers to redirect their dollars.

Kim Roxie, founder of LAMIK Beauty, was among those vendors.

“Before 2020, you’re looking at less than 5% of Black-owned beauty products on retailers’ websites or physical shelves,” Roxie said. “I decided to keep my products on the [Target] website because they’re there because of a Black woman.”

True Laundry, an Atlanta-based detergent company, also participated.

“Everybody uses laundry detergent,” said co-founder Abdur Shahid. “It is not for one particular race. We need to buy from each other, like all the other people.”

This week, Bryant is inviting Target’s CEO and Board Chair to attend a public town hall Tuesday night at New Birth. The event aims to open a direct line of communication between Target leadership and the community.

“If Target doesn’t show up, the community still will,” Bryant said.

11Alive has reached out to Target for a response. We’re still waiting to hear back.