“We are effectively, today, closing this chapter because we have other fights that we’ve got to see and other things that we’ve got to tackle,” Bryant said. He noted that the campaign against Target has been “an amalgamation of several different movements” and that he was speaking specifically for the “faith-based initiative.”
Bryant said that Target had taken steps to meet three of the Target Fast’s four demands, the only exception being the company had not invested in Black-owned banks. However, the company has not changed its position on its DEI policies, something it confirmed to USA Today, leading many in the Black community to continue the boycott.
In his March 13 podcast livestream, Bryant addressed pushback he received after his announcement that the Target Fast was ending. “Today was supposed to be a hallmark celebration, but given the most recent events that have taken place this week, we’re having to make a hard pivot,” he said. “I wanted to address you directly about what has transpired around the Target Fast and the Target boycott.”
“The very last thing I ever want to do is be a proponent of division or divisiveness,” said Bryant. “I want us to be together as one. This week I failed at doing that when…I called for the end of the Target Fast.”
“Most in our community and culture were disappointed, angry, frustrated and bewildered,” said the pastor. “What did it mean? Have you sold out? Have you given up? You waved the white flag? And, emphatically, the answer is no.”
Bryant then said he wanted to “walk you through what has taken place over the last year that has gotten to the place of where we are right now.”
He explained that, last year, a Target boycott was started in Cleveland and in Minneapolis “distinctively by two significantly strong sisters, Attorney Nekima [Levy Armstrong] and Rep. Nina Turner.” Levy Armstrong was one of the people arrested for their involvement in the anti-ICE protest that disrupted services at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, in January.
RELATED: Anti-ICE Protesters Disrupt Sunday Worship at SBC Church in Minnesota, Prompting DOJ Investigation
The same day that Bryant announced the Target Fast was over, Levy Armstrong urged people to continue the Target boycott and to stand with “grassroots leadership” instead of “fake pastors” or “fake activists trying to co-opt our work.”
Levy Armstrong, Jaylani Hussein, and Monique Cullars-Doty started the Target boycott in Minneapolis, where Target is headquartered, in January 2025, according to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR). The three have reportedly accused Bryant, Turner, and Mallory of taking over the boycott, a claim that Bryant, Turner and Mallory deny.
“From the beginning, we said the Target boycott would be indefinite, unless and until Target took the steps to address the fact that they rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to capitulate to the Trump administration,” said Levy Armstrong, who stated, “The boycott continues.”
“We speak for us,” she said, “and we will never sell out our community for crumbs or a seat at Target’s corrupt table.”
Bryant told his viewers that the reason why he launched the Target Fast was because he saw the need for the Black church to be involved in the movement. “I watched it play out in real time, and it dawned on me that the Black church was not a part of the equation or the conversation dealing with civic engagement,” he said, “and I pulled from their genius and their prowess the Target Fast to walk alongside them. It was intended to pull together Black churches, Black congregations, and Black denominations to get back in the conversation.”
