National Target Boycott Leaders Urge Shoppers to “Hold the Line” Through Holiday Season

Leaders of the national Target boycott gathered outside the retailer’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters Thursday to demand renewed public participation in their nearly year-long campaign.

Leaders of the national Target boycott say the this holiday season marks the boycott’s most decisive moment yet and is an opportunity to underscore consumer anger over Target’s rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments and its political alignment with the Trump administration.

Launched February 1 by civil rights advocates Nekima Levy Armstrong, Jaylani Hussein and Monique Cullars-Doty, the boycott began after Target reversed a series of racial equity pledges it made in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.

“We are boycotting the company that is in our backyard, that knew exactly what Black and brown communities were experiencing and that claimed to represent the values of Minnesota,” said Nekima, a civil rights attorney. “But instead, Target aligned itself with an authoritarian who has undermined our values and put our neighbors under attack.”

Target's subsequent $1 million donation to the Trump/Vance Inaugural Committee intensified outrage among organizers, who say the move signaled a deliberate retreat from commitments to Black, immigrant, disabled and working-class communities.

Stock Declines, Layoffs are Evidence of Boycott’s Impact

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN and a boycott co-founder, emphasized the economic fallout he attributes to the campaign: declining sales, plummeting stock value, and thousands of recent layoffs.

“Nearly 250 days into this boycott, Target’s stock price has plummeted,” Jaylani said. “They’ve laid off nearly 2,000 employees in a matter of weeks. That’s what a dying corporation looks like.”

Jaylani also issued a rare direct appeal to Target employees, calling on workers inside the corporation to pressure leadership to reverse course. “It is time for the revolution inside Target to warm up. The revolution outside has met Target one-on-one, and we have won.”

Links to Immigration Raids and Racial Violence

Throughout the press conference, speakers connected the boycott to broader struggles for safety, dignity, and civil rights.

Luis Argueta of Unidos MN described escalating fear among immigrant families amid recent high-profile ICE operations in St. Paul, Northfield and other Minnesota communities. He condemned Target’s silence as undocumented workers, including those who stock shelves, clean stores, and supply the products on them, face kidnappings and disappearances by federal agencies.

“Target says its purpose is to help all families discover the joy of everyday life,” Luis said. “But it has retreated at the very moment our communities are being hunted. We’re simply asking Target to be the Minnesota company it claims to be — to stand with the people who make its stores possible.”

Monique Cullars-Doty, a Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder and co-founder of the National Target Boycott, spoke about the significance of DEI for employees with disabilities, Black vendors, and workers who rely on equitable policies to succeed.

“It is shameful that Target is ready to allow the ship to sink rather than retract its decision to embrace DEI and follow through on its commitments,” said Monique. “What Target has done by rolling back its DEI is affirm that there are certain people they do not value.”

Monique also tied the boycott to long-standing community grievances with the company’s support of the Minneapolis Police Department and its controversial forensic role in past prosecutions, including the case of Mahdi Ali, whom advocates say was wrongfully convicted.

“Target was supporting Amy Klobuchar as Hennepin County prosecutor and paying her for convictions. And who was being convicted? Black men and Black boys at an increase of 600% the normal rate,” said Monique. “We demand the release of Mahdi Ali. The boycott will not end until we see Mahdi Ali free and all our demands are met.”

Organizers repeatedly emphasized that the holiday season, especially Black Friday and the final month of the fourth quarter, is when Target relies most heavily on revenue.

“This is the simplest thing people can do to stand up for justice,” Nekima said. “Don’t shop at Target. Instead, shop local. Support small businesses. Buy directly from vendors rather than through a corporation that has aligned itself with cruelty. Hold the line.”