By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Even before Target publicly rolled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, the Black Press of America had requested a meeting with CEO Brian Cornell. Those requests—from National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and NNPA Chairman Bobby Henry—have gone unanswered for nearly a year. Cornell has not spoken to either Chavis or Henry, who represent the more than 250 Black-owned newspapers and media companies that make up the NNPA. Just recently, a lower-level Target employee acknowledged via email that the company is aware of the request for a meeting—but no such meeting has been scheduled. Meanwhile, Cornell met with Rev. Al Sharpton, who stated publicly that he was not participating in a boycott of Target and really didn’t have a dog in the fight. That meeting—and the snub of the Black Press—has deepened frustration within the Black media community and reinforced what NNPA members say is a longstanding pattern of corporate disrespect.
Target has not yet responded to the Black Press for this article. “The Black Press of America is concerned about our continued public education and selective buying campaign directed toward Target,” Chavis stated. “While we heard from some of the staff of Target, we’ve not had direct communication with Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell. We intend to intensify our efforts to get this issue resolved in the interest of 50 million African American consumers across the nation.” Tracey Williams-Dillard, publisher and CEO of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, located near Target’s Minneapolis headquarters, said the company’s continued silence “sends the message that Target does not value us as consumer-based dollars.” She noted reports of more than 13 consecutive weeks of declining foot traffic at stores and criticized the company’s decision to dismantle its DEI initiatives just before Black History Month. “The timing was disturbing,” Williams-Dillard said. “It was a slap in the face.” Henry, publisher of the Westside Gazette in Ft. Lauderdale and chairman of the NNPA, didn’t hold back: “Target’s manipulated silence toward the Black Press sends a powerful and troubling message to Black America—that our voices, platforms, and influence are expendable.” He said Target’s behavior suggests the company’s earlier DEI push was “a short-term PR strategy” rather than a commitment to real equity. “True diversity requires long-term investment,” Henry said. “When companies pull back, we must pull back too. Black consumers are speaking with their dollars every day.”
In response to Target’s inaction, the NNPA launched a selective buying and consumer education campaign earlier this year. That effort began as Rev. Jamal Bryant’s “Target Fast” drew nearly 200,000 supporters, and the NAACP issued a formal consumer advisory citing Target’s retreat from its racial justice pledges. As major organizations, we are in lockstep with our messages to Black consumers. In Omaha, Omaha Star publisher Terri Sanders said the company’s DEI commitment “was never intentional—it was a go-along-with-the-crowd act.” She called Target’s refusal to invest in Black-owned media “redlining at its best. Target’s ignoring the Black Press indicates that the Black consumer should ignore Target,” Sanders said. Chicago Defender Managing Editor Tacuma Roeback agreed, describing Target’s failure to support Black media as either “misguided, pigheaded, or simply unwilling to address the needs of a community that helped make them pop in the first place. And now it’s too late. The energy once associated with shopping at Target has faded” Seattle Medium publisher Chris Bennett said the lack of foot traffic in local stores is “very noticeable. Target will learn one way or another that Black dollars do matter.” Mississippi Link publisher and NNPA board member Jackie Hampton observed a decline in Black shoppers at her local Target store. Hampton challenged Target’s leadership to reconsider its direction. “I would hate to see Target die because of hate,” she said. Across the board, NNPA publishers stressed that visibility in Black-owned media is about far more than advertising dollars. Cheryl Smith, publisher of Texas Metro News, Garland Journal, and I Messenger Media, called Target’s behavior “economic apartheid. We are the truth-tellers,” Smith said. “We stand on integrity, transparency, and the love of our people. If you want our dollars, you better respect our institutions.”
