A Target store in Lakewood, Colo., on Jan. 11. The retailer said...

A Target store in Lakewood, Colo., on Jan. 11. The retailer said Friday it would conclude the diversity, equity and inclusion goals it previously set in three-year cycles. Credit: AP / David Zalubowski

Discount store chain Target will join rival Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack from conservative activists and, as of last week, the White House.

The Minneapolis-based retailer said Friday that the changes to its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy would include ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it also would conclude the DEI goals it previously set in three-year cycles.

Target has 20 stores on Long Island, including locations in Bay Shore, Huntington Station, New Hyde Park and Westbury. 

In November, the retailer said it would be opening a store in a Bridgehampton space that Kmart had vacated but it did not give the expected opening date.

Target's DEI goals included hiring and promoting more women and members of racial minority groups, and recruiting more diverse suppliers, including businesses owned by people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities.

Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, wrote in memo to employees which Target shared Friday, “Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy.”

“And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future,” Fernandez said.

Differing views

Some shoppers at the Target in Farmingdale on Friday said they were disappointed to see the retailer back away from programs that helped minority businesses and employees, while others said DEI programs weren’t needed.

Renee Fleary, 39, of Melville, said Target’s move was disheartening, in part because the retailer was a trailblazer in its DEI initiatives, such as carrying a variety of hair care products from Black-owned, small businesses.

“When I went natural [after transitioning from chemically straightened hair] many, many years ago ... you had to dig to find products to cater to your hair. And Target was one of the first stores, like big-box retailers, that was carrying that brand at the time that I was using it,” she said.

Samantha Latorre, 31, of West Babylon, said Target eliminating its DEI programs, which protect people, mean she will choose to spend her money elsewhere.

“It’s not right at all,” she said.

Jason Sutherland, 39, of Farmingdale, doesn’t believe DEI programs are needed, and said that there is too much focus on people's physical characteristics.

“It doesn’t matter what someone’s race, creed, color or gender is. We’re all humans,” he said.

There's no doubt the U.S. civil rights landscape has undergone a massive transformation in the five years since much of corporate America adopted DEI goals in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that followed Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

A 2023 Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions emboldened conservative groups to bring or threaten lawsuits targeting corporate initiatives such as employee resource groups and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups.

Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, Harley-Davison and John Deere are among the well-known consumer brands that reduced or phased out their DEI commitments in recent months.

President Donald Trump last week signaled his administration's agreement with conservatives who argue that policies designed to increase minority representation by considering factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unconstitutional.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending DEI programs across the federal government. The order calls for revoking all DEI mandates, policies, preferences and activities, along with the review and revision of existing employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs.

Blazing a trail

Unlike some of the companies retooling or retiring their diversity initiatives, Target's work to build a more inclusive workforce predated 2020, and the company also was long seen as a trailblazer with respect to LGBTQ+ inclusion.

But the employee memo shared Friday said Target no longer would participate in surveys designed to gauge the effectiveness of its actions, including an annual index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ+ rights organization. Target said it would further evaluate corporate partnerships to ensure they’re connected directly to business objectives, but declined to share details.

Getting corporations to withdraw from the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index and to stop sponsoring Pride activities have been goals of DEI opponents.

One of the reasons for some of the objections to DEI is a misunderstanding of what it is, said Falischa Moss, who, in 2015, co-founded with her husband an organization called Black Long Island, a social network that provides connections within the Black community and identifies Black-owned businesses.

DEI programs are still needed because of persistent inequalities in hiring and barriers to entrepreneurship, such as the higher cost of supplies and insurance in Black communities, said Moss, 47, a Brentwood resident.

“People in the Black community have been fighting for equality and social justice for a very long time. Getting rid of the title DEI” doesn’t change that, Moss said.

Steering clear of a backlash from conservative customers and organizations is something that Target has tried to navigate for a while. As transgender rights became a more prominent issue in 2016, the company declared that “inclusivity is a core belief at Target” and said it supported transgender employees and customers using whichever restroom or fitting room “corresponds with their gender identity.”

But after some customers threatened to boycott Target stores, the company said that more stores would make available a single-toilet bathroom with a door that could be locked.

In 2023, Target removed some of its Pride Month merchandise after online complaints and in-store confrontations that the retailer said threatened employees’ well-being. The company decided last year not to stock Pride Month products at every U.S. store.

Still, some prominent companies have resisted public pressure to retreat from their diversity plans. On Thursday, Costco shareholders rejected a proposal urging the wholesale club operator to evaluate any risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

According to preliminary results shared by Costco executives, more than 98% of shares voted against the proposal submitted by a conservative think tank based in Washington. Costco's board of directors had recommended a no vote.

With Tory N. Parrish

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

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