As you probably know, Target has been under an ongoing boycott. It’s been bubbling for a while now, ever since the company decided to quietly remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from its corporate priorities. DEI has been a political lightning rod lately. But let’s keep it real. Donald Trump basically gave corporations the greenlight to stop doing anything that even resembles support for marginalized communities.
Now, DEI has somehow become a dirty word, even though the whole point was to address systemic inequalities in American society. And if we’re being honest, white women have been the biggest beneficiaries of DEI programs, not Black men. Black men are still at the bottom of the ladder in that regard. We don’t gain much from it, so the backlash is ironic at best. But despite that, the boycott against Target is still active.
Last weekend, the Essence Festival took Target on as a sponsor, and that did not go over well. People saw that as a scab move. Essence is now looking wild out here for crossing that “picket line,” and their brand is taking a hit for it. I am not mad at them because they lost a lot of sponsors this year, allegedly.
But, Target is feeling a different type of heat. From what I’ve gathered, when they stripped away their DEI commitments, nobody forced them. That move came straight from the top. Trump didn’t tell them to do it. They did it themselves. Intentionally. Strategically. Well, now the rumors are breaking out.
Now I’m hearing whispers that shareholders are considering legal action because, surprise, it’s hurting the bottom line. They don’t care about DEI as a principle, but they do care about profits. And profits have been bleeding. And when the money starts drying up, even the coldest capitalists start paying attention. So guess what? Target is reportedly now looking at bringing DEI back. Yep, they allegedly want that “good thing” back.
First of all, this is a rumor and secondly, there is not a shred of info online to support this. But, sources are talking. But here’s the bigger problem. I don’t think the people are buying it either way. They pulled Kai Cenat into the mix as a kind of PR chess move to lure folks back into the stores, but come on. That’s not going to move high earners or people who feel burnt.
If they’re serious, they need to do more than hire influencers. Maybe they should advertise here at AllHipHop, because we are where the people are. Better yet, invest in the communities. Build programs. Do work that goes beyond selling us socks and back-to-school notebooks. Make it sustainable. Make it sincere. Hire me! It might not solve everything overnight, but I promise genuine change starts from the inside.
And even then… it still might not be enough. We’re tired.
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