After months of economic pressure and a nationwide boycott campaign, Pastor Jamal Bryant has announced that the “Target Fast” has officially ended. The effort sought to hold the retail giant accountable after backlash erupted over its retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments in January 2025.
“We are effectively, today, closing this chapter because we have other fights that we’ve got to see,” Bryant said during a press conference on March 11. “Stay tuned for the next fight, but this fight for us has now reached its conclusion.”
Still, some people remain unconvinced, arguing that the fight for accountability is far from over.
What did the Target Fast accomplish?
The boycott began in February 2025 as a 40-day “Target Fast” aligned with Lent, but it ultimately stretched into a year-long campaign. Bryant said that during that time, the company followed through on many of the commitments he and fellow activists Tamika D. Mallory (Until Freedom) and former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner (We Are Somebody) had laid out.
According to Bryant, organizers called on the company and its new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, to reinstate a “reimagining” of its DEI policies and commit $2 billion toward Black-owned businesses and community-led initiatives. He said the company is now “97%” complete on those commitments and expects to fulfill the remaining balance by Easter. The pastor also revealed that Target plans to distribute an additional $100 million in grants to Black organizations and causes, and that the company had partnered with Black-owned brands, suppliers, and media companies as part of its efforts to meet those goals.
HBCUs were a critical focus under the agreement. According to the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor, Target launched a pilot HBCU partnership designed to equip students with business skills and create a framework for deeper engagement with historically Black colleges and universities. The company also provided $10 million to Detroit’s Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, which had recently been on the “brink of closure,” and contributed an additional $8 million toward its Target Scholars program.
Bryant said the boycott also helped spur leadership changes within the company.
“Thirteen percent of the board of directors is now minorities,” he told the audience during the press conference. “They can stand toe to toe against any other Fortune 500 company with their diversity measures,” he boasted proudly.
In an interview with USA TODAY on Tuesday, Pastor Jamal Bryant also pointed to a new company program called Belonging, an employee inclusion initiative, “which gives access to everybody, not just for entry-level positions, but to be able to ascend into C-suites.” He added, “It is essentially DEI as I read it. It is the exact same thing.”
However, materials provided by Bryant’s organization to USA TODAY clarified that Target did not make new concessions or reverse the policy changes it implemented after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025 and issued an executive order to dismantle DEI initiatives.
“There are no new commitments, no reversals,” Ebony Porter-Ike, a spokesperson for Bryant, confirmed.
Target said it welcomed the opportunity to move forward following the boycott and emphasized a renewed focus on rebuilding trust.
“We’re pleased to be moving forward, and we will continue showing up as trusted neighbors while delivering results for our team members, guests, and the more than 2,000 communities in which we serve,” a spokesperson said.
So far in 2026, the company’s share price has climbed more than 20% after a difficult 2025 marked by declining foot traffic and falling net sales in part due to the boycott, Business Insider reported.
Reactions
Some people weren’t pleased with Pastor Jamal Bryant’s announcement on Tuesday and demanded further accountability.
Notably, even though the organized boycott has ended, co-organizer Nina Turner says she is not yet ready to return to Target stores until the company issues a public apology to the Black community, according to Business Insider.
She reiterated that stance in a post on X shared Tuesday that read:
“I’m not going back to Target. And you shouldn’t, either,” she penned.
Some social media users and activists also expressed skepticism about returning to Target. In Minnesota, local activists held a news conference Tuesday announcing they would continue the boycott over the company’s rollback of DEI measures.
Journalist Dawn Montgomery said she would stand in solidarity with those activists even though Bryant’s initiative had concluded.
“If the Target fast is done then so be it,” she penned in part. “But to me, THE BOYCOTT isn’t done.”
Actor Telvin Griffin echoed a similar sentiment.
“Uhhh is Target walking back everything and rejecting all of Trump’s policies towards the negro community and other people of color? If not then people will and must continue to boycott.”
SEE MORE:
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Black Folks Aren’t Happy With Pastor Jamal Bryant Claiming Target Boycott Is Over
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