AT A GLANCE
- The Target boycott continues as Nina Turner, Tamika Mallory, and Nekima Levy Armstrong confirm the movement was never called off.
- Confusion followed Pastor Jamal Bryant ending the “Target fast,” but leaders say the boycott and fast are separate actions.
- Organizers are demanding a public apology and accountability from Target over its rollback of DEI commitments.
- The next phase of the movement will focus on clearer communication, community input, and sustained economic pressure.
How the Target Boycott Began
When Nina Turner announced a national boycott of Target on January 25, a day after the company rolled back its DEI promises, the call to action was direct.
“Yesterday, @target announced that they are rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives,” Turner said at the time. “This moment is a test… Let’s pass the test and demand better of the places we shop.”
Turner was not alone. In Minneapolis, where Target is headquartered, civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong and fellow organizers Monique Cullars Doty and Jaylani Hussein were already mobilizing.
On January 30, 2025, the group stood outside Target’s corporate headquarters to announce a nationwide boycott set to begin February 1, the first day of Black History Month.
Levy Armstrong called on the public to take action, asking supporters what they were willing to do collectively in response to what many saw as a rollback of racial justice commitments.
For organizers in Minneapolis, the decision hit especially hard.
The city is where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, sparking a global reckoning. In response, Target had pledged $2.1 billion toward racial equity, including major investments in Black-owned businesses and communities. The rollback of those commitments was seen not just as a business decision, but as a betrayal.
A Movement Gains Momentum—and Impact
The call to boycott quickly spread nationwide.
Local coalitions formed in cities like Washington, D.C., where organizers committed to protesting outside Target stores daily. Across the country, consumers shifted their spending habits, contributing to a reported $20 billion drop in Target’s market value in 2025.
What began as a response to a corporate policy change evolved into one of the largest national economic protests in recent history.
But more than a year later, the movement reached a turning point.
Confusion Over Bryant’s Announcement Sparks Backlash
In exclusive interviews with theGrio, Turner and Tamika Mallory addressed the backlash that followed Pastor Jamal Bryant’s recent announcement ending the “Target fast.”
“I think people were confused,” Turner said. “What he said was that the Target fast is done… I did not know that people were going to conflate the fast with the boycott.”
The fast, a faith-based tactic led by Bryant, had become closely associated with the broader boycott. When he announced its end, many assumed the entire movement was over.
Mallory said the moment revealed a larger issue.
“Sometimes we believe because we’ve said something a million times that everybody understands,” she said. “What we found out is that there are so many people who were very confused.”
Both leaders made clear: the boycott itself was never called off.
On That Press Conference and Public Disagreement
The confusion was amplified by a press conference meant to provide an update after more than 400 days of organizing.
Turner said the event was never intended to signal an end.
“It was not his press conference solely. It was our press conference,” she said. “Like with any movement… we had differences of opinion.”
Those differences became public.
Turner maintained that Target had not done enough to meet the movement’s demands, while Bryant believed progress had been made through the fast.
Mallory said she was not surprised by Bryant’s decision to step back from that tactic.
“He basically started something that would have been a 40-day activity and extended it to over 400 days,” she said, acknowledging his role while also pointing to the toll of sustaining such efforts.
At the same time, she emphasized the importance of clarity moving forward.
“You’ve got to explain things very clearly many times in order for even half of the people you’re trying to reach to get the message.”
Social Media and the Challenge of Modern Movements
Both Turner and Mallory pointed to social media as a complicating factor.
“The quick answer is yes,” Turner said when asked whether modern organizing is more difficult. “People can take half-truths and misinformation and just fly with them.”
Mallory described it as a shift from past movements, where internal disagreements were handled privately.
“Social media allows anyone to turn their microphone on,” she said. “The sausage-making process becomes public.”
While digital platforms have helped expand the movement’s reach, they have also made messaging more vulnerable to distortion.
Who Gets Credit—and Who Gets Overlooked
Another point of tension has been how the movement has been covered.
Turner acknowledged that some media outlets have incorrectly framed Bryant as the founder of the boycott.
“This movement means more to us than getting credit,” she said. “We were more about the work.”
Mallory added that the pace of modern news cycles often sacrifices accuracy for speed.
But both leaders stressed the importance of recognizing local organizers, particularly those who have maintained consistent, on-the-ground pressure.
Original Organizers Say the Boycott Was Never His to End
Levy Armstrong has been direct about that point.
In a recent op-ed on MS NOW, she wrote that the boycott is a grassroots movement that Bryant “did not start and has no authority to end.”
She pointed back to the origins of the boycott in Minneapolis, where local organizers first called for action following Target’s DEI rollback.
Levy Armstrong reinforced that the movement was never tied to a single voice or leader. Instead, it has been sustained by communities across the country who chose to change their spending habits and demand accountability.
Her message aligns with Turner and Mallory: despite differing tactics, the boycott remains active.
What Comes Next for the Target Boycott
Looking ahead, Turner made it clear that the movement’s demands have not changed.
Target must publicly apologize to the Black community.
“You divorced us in public,” she said. “So you need to apologize in public.”
She also pointed to reported conversations where Target representatives described DEI as “toxic” as evidence that the company has not taken responsibility.
Until that changes, she says, the boycott will continue.
Mallory confirmed that her organization is still engaged, though the next phase will be more intentional.
“We are absolutely not going to abandon the fight,” she said. “We’re recalibrating and we’re listening.”
That includes engaging with community members and vendors impacted by Target’s decisions, with a renewed focus on clear communication.
What This Means Going Forward
If there is one takeaway from the past week, it is this: the Target boycott was never controlled by a single leader, and it will not end because of one announcement.
From Turner’s national call to action, to Mallory’s organizing work, to Levy Armstrong’s leadership on the ground in Minneapolis, the movement has always been collective.
It is also evolving.
Leaders now say the next phase will require sharper messaging, stronger coordination, and continued economic pressure. But the foundation remains the same: accountability, public acknowledgment of harm, and measurable change.
More than a year in, organizers say the boycott has already shifted consumer behavior and corporate attention.
And for those still participating, the message has not changed.
The boycott is not over.
