Leaders of the Target boycott are calling on the National Baptist Convention to return the corporation’s donation of $300,000.
In public comments, activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant encouraged the Black church organization to send back the funds. If accepted, according to the activists, it would work against their efforts as they lead a permanent boycott against Target.
The money was donated as part of a partnership that will help the church “provide scholarships,” “support senior citizens” and “invest in entrepreneurship programs.”
While Bryant disavowed the donation during a sermon, Armstrong issued an open letter to the National Baptist Convention. Signed by Monique Cullars-Doty, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota (Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota), the open letter urged the organization to reconsider its association with a chain that has caused “profound harm.”
“This $300,000 payment does not heal – it deepens the wound,” wrote Armstrong in the open letter. “It appears to be a payout for silence and an attempt to regain Black consumer trust without accountability.”
The latest donation comes days after members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with leaders of the Target corporation. In the meeting, Chairwoman Yvette D. Clarke and other CBC members met with CEO Brian Cornell to address the company’s abandonment of DEI initiatives.
Along with emphasizing the demands of the “Target Fast” coalition, the CBC urged the company’s leadership to recommit to DEI values, bring back the DEI programs that were taken away, disclose the diversity amongst Target employees and reaffirm financial investments that were pledged publicly.
Per Chair Yvette D. Clarke, the meeting did not offer substantial answers.
“Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,’ said Clarke per a statement. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and to the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity.”
As of now, the boycotts have played a pivotal role in the drop in sales for the chain.
Target CEO Brian Cornell has gone on the record, saying that, due to the boycotts, the quarterly sales were down 3.8%, marking a significant dent in earnings.
