Rev. Jamal Bryant made waves after announcing a 40-day “fast” of sorts from shopping at Target, and now the clergyman wants to extend the boycott. After assessing Target’s response to demands made by organizers to restore their rolled-back DEI initiatives, Rev. Bryant feels that the corporation hasn’t felt enough pressure.
Rev. Jamal Bryant, the lead pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta metropolitan area, shared an announcement on his Target Fast website thanking supporters of the Lent-inspired fast and shopping at the major retailer. He then shared his renewed focus on moving past the fast and continuing to cease all shopping until changes to DEI at the company are implemented.
From Target Fast:
We are entering a new phase of this movement. What began as the Target FAST — a moral witness and urgent call for justice — now evolves into a full Target BOYCOTT. This shift marks not an end, but a deepening of our commitment to justice and accountability.
Until Target comes to the table with serious, concrete proposals to meet our four demands, we will remain in this posture. Silence and delay are no longer acceptable. Our communities deserve action, not platitudes. Our demands are not radical — they are righteous, reasonable, and long overdue.
It is vital to remember: this boycott is a coalition effort. It is not about any single individual, personality, or public figure. It is about people. It is about power. It is about principle. We stand shoulder to shoulder — workers, organizers, elders, youth, people of faith, people of conscience — in a collective refusal to support a corporation that refuses to hear us.
According to several reports, Target appears to be feeling the brunt of the boycotts with declining shopper numbers since the company did away with DEI, seemingly in response to President Donald Trump’s administration essentially scaling down the practice.
To learn more about Rev. Jamal Bryant’s boycott efforts, click here.
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Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty
