“Somebody is going to pay the price, and we don’t accept layaway in 2025,” Rev. Jamal H. Bryant said as he addressed the Target Fast Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday night, April 22, 2025, at Salem Bible Church in Atlanta.
The town hall was hosted on the 42nd day of an initial 40-day fast organized by Bryant and his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The retail fast has expanded into a national boycott movement against Target and broader institutions, spearheaded by the church’s pastor.
The campaign, which criticizes the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives by the retail giant, continues to draw widespread attention and support.
“We are the nation’s biggest consumers and least producers,” Bryant declared, challenging the crowd to recognize their economic influence. “We do not need financial literacy — we need to have financial empowerment,” he continued.
The boycott stems from Target’s rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives earlier this year. The retail giant had previously committed to supporting Black-owned businesses, advancing Black employees, and enhancing inclusivity in the shopping experience. In January, those efforts were quietly scaled back, prompting backlash and organized resistance.
Also in attendance at Tuesday’s event was Ben Chavis, CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), who addressed the crowd alongside Bryant. The forum provided updates on the boycott’s impact and the next steps for sustained action.
“Subscribe to a Black newspaper- We are bombarded with hopelessness, tonight and tomorrow going forward we should be more conscious about how we help one another,” Chavis said.
Lee Dunn, CEO of Blink Marketing and founder of United 1 GPS, a non-profit dedicated to homelessness, public policy, and “restoring the American dream,” has been working with Bryant, emphasizing the importance of action over silence.
“To me, standing up for DEI is important, as ultimately Black people have a presence in this country — whether it is valued or not,” Dunn said Tuesday.
“We need to leverage our power.”
With over 200,000 supporters and continued pressure from Black churches, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, the boycott has contributed to a reported $12.4 billion loss in market value and a 7.9% decline in year-over-year store traffic.
With efforts like the Bullseye Black Market helping to reroute dollars directly into the Black community, Bryant’s message resonates louder than ever: economic empowerment, not just literacy, is the path forward—and the price of inaction will be paid in full.
“One church had an idea, and it became a spark that became a flame,” Bryant said.
With the fast, Bryant said they had four demands of Target:
- Honor the $2 billion pledge to the Black business community through products, services, and Black media buys
- Deposit $250 million in any of our 23 Black banks
- Completely restoring the franchise’s commitment to DEI
- Pipeline community centers at 10 HBCUs to teach retail business at every level
Bryant said the deadline to meet those demands and end the boycott was 9 a.m. on Sunday. Target only committed to one of the demands and did not meet that deadline.
“40 days was not the deadline. It was the benchmark for us to see where it is that we are, and to be able to recalibrate. History will record that this is the most effective boycott for our community, nationally, since Montgomery. And strikingly different, Montgomery was just a city, and this is impacting the entire nation. So, we’re glad to have such a grasp and have such a bridge.”
On Friday April 18, 2025, New Birth unveiled its Bullseye Black Market, a curated marketplace at the Samson Health & Fitness Center, featuring 104 entrepreneurs and their businesses. From art and makeup to sweet treats, clothing, and skincare, the market is a hub that allows people to invest their money back into the Black community.
“Black people have no shortage of creativity, we have no shortage of ingenuity, we have no shortage of talent,” Bryant said before he cut the ribbon welcoming DeKalb County residents and leaders into the space.