Beyond The Dome: Target shoppers push for a boycott after change in DEI policies

By: Katie Dusza, Contributor 

On Jan. 24, 2025, Target issued a press release regarding their new changes to their diversity, equity and inclusion policy. In response, activists have been pushing for a boycott of Target. 

In the past decade, Target as a brand has coined itself an advocate for diversity through its products and campaigns. This recent switch has called into question Target’s consistency, considering their previous vocal commitments to inclusion, and has made customers question the genuinity of their previous efforts. 

Target’s DEI efforts began to strengthen after the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd. Their ‘Racial Equity Action and Change’ program included anti-racist training for employees, helping to advance the careers of black employees and working with black-owned businesses. 

Target claims that these efforts were always only supposed to take place for three years; however, critics of their reduction of DEI efforts note that equity is not something that can be achieved on a schedule. This new system was put in place a week before Black History Month began. 

People also have speculated that this change in policy  was an attempt by the store to seem less “woke” and abide by the new overwhelmingly conservative political environment. 

This decrease of protective DEI policies follows the second inauguration of the Trump administration and its suspension of some DEI programs that the administration deems to be “radical and wasteful,” according to an official Trump executive order. Within the same order, which can be found on the White House website, DEI efforts are described as “illegal and immoral.” 

Across social media, people have been discussing conducting a Target boycott during Black History Month. However, this boycott is not as clear-cut as activists would like it to be. 

There is a possibility of black-owned small businesses that rely on Target for sales experiencing negative effects of losing customers. As an alternative, some activists are calling upon shoppers to get their necessities from Costco due to their firm stance on inclusion.