ByJanice Gassam Asare, Ph.D.,
Senior Contributor.
After a plethora of performative promises, proclamations and pledges following the murder of George Floyd, many corporations started dissolving their DEI programs and initiatives in the years that followed. Many in the DEI opposition have called for the death of DEI and in 2024, companies like Walmart, Boeing, Ford, John Deere and many others began to eliminate DEI-related policies and practices. In 2025, at the start of Trump’s second term, there was a surge in anti-DEI legislation and many companies joined the anti-DEI bandwagon, capitulating to the DEI opposition. Following the decision of many companies to retreat from DEI, consumers have banded together to resist and to make their voices heard.
In February 2025, after an announcement that Target would be scaling back its DEI initiatives, popular Atlanta Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant called for Black Americans to participate in a 40-day “fast” from Target for Lent. The fast, which started in March 2025, turned into a full-scale boycott that is still ongoing. Supporters of the boycott have attributed Target’s reported decline in sales and foot traffic in 2025 to the DEI boycotts.
Now, as the holiday season is underway, there are renewed calls to continue to boycott Target, along with two other companies: Home Depot and Amazon, in a new campaign called “We Ain’t Buying It”. Target is part of the campaign because of their DEI rollbacks. Amazon is a boycott target for this campaign for, “Funding this administration to secure their own corporate tax cuts.” Home Depot is also a focus, according to their website, “For allowing and colluding with ICE to kidnap our neighbors on their properties.” Target and Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, a spokesperson for Home Depot shared, “We aren’t notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in the operations. We aren't coordinating with ICE or Border Patrol. We’re required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate.”
