Civil Rights Activists Call for Target Boycott After Retailer Backs Off DEI (Target, Walmart, Costco, LGBTQ, Urban League, NAACP & Soros Funding, All Networking)
Newsmax.com
Thursday,
30 January 2025 04:29 PM EST
Civil
rights activists gathered outside the headquarters of Target
Corp.
on Thursday to call for a national boycott of the retailing giant over its
decision to phase out its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Target
announced last Friday that it would join competitor Walmart and a number of
other prominent American brands in scaling back their DEI initiatives, which
have come under attack from conservatives and the new White House of President
Donald Trump.
Nekima
Levy Armstrong, a veteran civil rights lawyer in Minneapolis and founder of the
Racial Justice Network, joined other local activists and their supporters at a
news conference to urge people to begin the boycott on Saturday, the first day
of Black History Month. Many of the participants were regular Target shoppers
until now, she said.
Levy
Armstrong said they were “stunned” that Target, which increased its commitment
to building a more diverse workforce in the aftermath of the police killing of
George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis in 2020, backed away from its support
of racial equity.
“We
thought that they would hold the line. We thought that they would continue to
stand for the values that we all hold dear,” she said. "But instead they
acted cowardly, and they made the decision to bow down to the Trump
administration. Well, we are here today saying we will not bow down. We will
not step back, and we will not turn around.”
Jaylani
Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on
Islamic-American Relations, said that as a company based in the city where
Floyd's murder sparked a national reckoning with racial injustice, Target must
be called out.
“We
here in Minneapolis today, the good people of the state, are saying to our
friends all over the country, ‘If you were moved to do something good after the
murder of George Floyd, it is time for you to stand up and boycott Target,’”
Hussein said.
The
organizers of the boycott include local Black Lives Matter groups. During the
boycott announcement, some speakers cut up their distinctive red Target charge
cards, while others called on DEI supporters to shop at Costco, which reaffirmed
its commitment to DEI last week.
Despite
the anger with Target, the news conference-turned-rally took on a festive
atmosphere, with a New Orleans-style brass band playing protest songs like Bob
Marley's “Get Up, Stand Up.” Participants circled up for a prayer before the
speeches began.
Target,
which long was viewed as a strong advocate for the rights of Black and LGBTQ+ people, did not
immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday on the call for a
boycott. But in a memo to employees last week, Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief
community impact and equity officer, described the company's decision to retire
its diversity goals as a “next chapter” in the company’s human resource and
customer engagement strategy.
“And
as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the
importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in
the future,” she wrote.
Levy
Armstrong said Target has not reached out to her or other local Black leaders.
She said they expected more from Target, and now feel like everything it had
done in support of people of color was just window dressing. The starting point
for any conversation, she said, would be for the company reverse its decision
immediately.
“Target
knows what its presence and its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
means to this community," Levy Armstrong said. “So that is why we are
focusing on Target first. But that does not mean that those other businesses
should not also be held accountable. All of those businesses should be held
accountable, and they should not have access to our dollars.”
Speakers
also called on long-established civil rights groups that have benefited from
Target’s philanthropy, such as the NAACP and the Urban
League,
to join the opposition to Target’s decision. Levy Armstrong and Hussein said
they plan to partner with other national organizations to get the word out
about the boycott and to take other steps they were not yet ready to share
publicly.
Ever
since calls for a boycott began circulating on social media, the founders of
several Black-owned businesses that sell their products in Target stores or
through the company's online platforms have expressed concern that a broad
boycott might hurt them. They included the owners of hair care brands The Doux
and Camille Rose, and the cosmetics brand Lip Bar.
The
Minneapolis organizers said Black consumers and their white allies can continue
to support those companies while cutting Target out.
“We
are asking people to go on their websites and buy directly from those Black
companies, because Target will not see a single one of our Black dollars,” Levy
Armstrong said.
Connecting
the Dots:
Charles T. Munger is
a director at the Costco Wholesale Corporation and the vice
chairman for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Susan L. Decker is
a director at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a director at the Costco
Wholesale Corporation.
William H. Gates
III is a director at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a
co-chair for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Jeffrey S. Raikes is
a director at the Costco Wholesale Corporation and the CEO for
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
William H. Gates
Sr. is a director at the Costco Wholesale Corporation and a
co-chair for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder
for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the NAACP
Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
George Soros was the chairman
for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Vernon E. Jordan
Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank), a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational
Fund, a director at the Target Corporation and was the president of
the National Urban League.
Hugh B. Price was
the president & CEO for the National Urban League and a
senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Henry Louis
Gates Jr. was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank) and is a director at the NAACP Legal Defense &
Educational Fund.
James
A. Johnson is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank) and a director at the Target Corporation.
Stephen W. Sanger was
a director at the Target Corporation and is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Committee
for Economic Development.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for
the Committee for Economic Development and the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for
the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Aspen Institute
(think tank).
Solomon D.
Trujillo was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think
tank) and a director at the Target Corporation.
Shirley M.
Hufstedler was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute
(think tank) and a secretary at the U.S. Department of
Education.
Kevin Jennings was
an assistant deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education and
the founder & executive director for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network.
James Cole Jr. is
the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Education and was a
director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and the Center for
American Progress.
George Soros was the chairman for
the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a supporter for
the Center for American Progress.
Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was a funder for the Center
for American Progress.
Vernon E. Jordan
Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer &
Feld, LLP, a director at the Target Corporation, a
senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, an
honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and
was the president of the National Urban League.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman
for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Hugh B. Price was
a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the
president & CEO for the National Urban League.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
William H. Gates
Sr. is a co-chair for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
and a director at the Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Jeffrey S. Raikes is
the CEO for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a director
at the Costco Wholesale Corporation.
William H. Gates
III is a co-chair for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
and a director at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Susan L. Decker is
a director at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a director at the Costco
Wholesale Corporation
Charles T. Munger is
the vice chairman for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a director at
the Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Resources:
Past Research
Costco
Hit With Boycott Calls Over DEI Program (Connecting the Dots: Costco, Berkshire
Hathaway Inc., The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Nuclear Threat
Initiative & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past
Research on Costco)
Wednesday,
January 1, 2025
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/01/costco-hit-with-boycott-calls-over-dei.html
Civil
Rights Group Slams Walmart Decision on DEI Initiatives (The National Urban
League, Wal-Mart, CBS, Hunter Biden, Kamala Harris & Soros Funding, All
Networking) (Past Research on the National Urban
League)
Tuesday,
December 3, 2024
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2024/12/civil-rights-group-slams-walmart.html
Smaller
Bites – Connecting the Dots: Utah, The Target Corporation, LGBTQ & Soros
Funding, All Networking (Past Research on the Target
Corporation)
Tuesday,
May 30, 2023
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2023/05/smaller-bites-connecting-dots-utah.html
DeSantis
Sends 2 Private Planes of Illegals to Martha's Vineyard (Connecting the Dots:
Martha's Vineyard & Soros Funded Think Tanks All Networking) (Past Research on the NAACP)
Saturday,
September 17, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/09/desantis-sends-2-private-planes-of.html
Bill
Gates: Spoke With Trump, 'Amazing Things' for Global Health (Connecting the
Dot: Bill Gates, The Gates Foundation, Mark Zuckerberg, global health,
Obamacare, FDA, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, The Wall Street Journal, 60
Minutes, The Breakthrough Energy Coalition, Facebook & Soros Funding, All
Networking) (Past Research on the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation)
Sunday,
January 19, 2025
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/01/bill-gates-spoke-with-trump-amazing.html
SCHOOL
BOARD CALLED OUT - ABSOLUTE PROOF - THEY ARE DOING IT FOR THE MONEY (Past
Research on the U.S. Department of Education and the Chicago (IL) Board of
Education) (Past Research on the U.S. Department of
Education)
Sunday,
September 26, 2021
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2021/09/school-board-called-out-absolute-proof_26.html
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