Target CEO Brian Cornell met with Rev. Al Sharpton to discuss the retail chain’s rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Sharpton issued a statement on Thursday, April 17, announcing the meeting had taken place.
“This morning, I had a very constructive and candid meeting with Brian Cornell,” the Civil Rights leader said, and included a photo from the meeting.
The meeting took place in New York City at the headquarters of the National Action Network (NAN), a Civil Rights organization Sharpton founded.
Related: Atlanta Pastor Calls for Target ‘Fast’ for Lent
Earlier this week, members of NAN also sat down with the chairman and CEO of PepsiCo’s North America operations, saying they wanted to “get clarity” on the company’s “stance on DEI” and “whether they were shutting down their commitments due to pressure from President Trump and right-wing activists.”
Sharpton said he plans to “consult with members of the NAN Board of Directors over the Easter Holiday to determine any next steps with Target, PepsiCo, and other companies that have scaled back their DEI programs or pledges.”
Target announced it was ending its diversity program on Jan. 24, in a memo obtained by the Associated Press.
Sharpton decried those changes earlier this week.
“You can’t have an election come and all of a sudden, change your old positions,” he told CNBC on Wednesday.
He added that a new boycott of Target is on the table if the retailer doesn’t reaffirm its support and investment in the Black community.
The Target DEI shift has already had some fallout. The retailer experienced a decline in store visits for 10 straight weeks starting in late January, according to data firm Placer.ai. While there could be many reasons for the decline, it started shortly after the Target statement on its DEI rollback.
Sharpton is not the only African-American leader calling out Target.
The Rev. Jamal Bryant of Atlanta initiated a “fast” from shopping at Target during Lent, as a demonstration of Black consumer influence. During a sermon on Feb. 2, Bryant slammed President Trump for being the reason corporations, including Target and Walmart, are phasing out diversity policies.
On his first day in office, Trump ordered all programs promoting DEI in the federal government be terminated, then pushed for the private sector to end what he called “illegal” diversity programs.
In response, Bryant told parishioners: “The president vowed to remove DEI in order to make America great again, but really [it is] to make America biased again.”
“And because he has put this edict in line, corporations are starting to fall in line. Corporations like Walmart, corporations like Facebook, corporations like Amazon, corporations like McDonald’s, corporations like Ford, corporations like Lowe’s — and clutch your pearls, corporations like Target,” Bryant said.
The pastor spoke with Atlanta TV station WSB, and said Target is the main focus of the boycott because “Black people across the country spend $12 million per day” at the retailer.
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