A trio of Minnesotans who previously led reform efforts in the Twin Cities after George Floyd's murder rallied more than 70 people outside Target's corporate headquarters, calling for a boycott of the retailer over changes in the company's diversity efforts.

"The reality is we all make up the fabric of America and should be embraced," said Nekita Levy-Armstrong, a civil rights attorney, activist and founder of Racial Justice network, who led the rally with Jaylani Hussein and Monique Cullars-Doty. "Somehow Target did not understand its decision would not only be offensive but [would be] bad for business. Many of us were regular Target shoppers before their announcement."

Target on Friday retreated from goals strengthened after Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis, where the retailer is based. Goals included pay equity, diversifying its supplier network and one of its programs benchmarked how much money would go to community efforts and businesses led by people of color.

"Many of us were stunned," Levy-Armstrong said. "We thought that they would hold the line."

The three believe that President Donald Trump's decision to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government put pressure on Target and other companies. Trump also called on departments to identify private ventures that should be investigated.

Hussein told the crowd the three rally leaders believe Target would reverse its decision, possibly by the end of February, if a boycott holds.

"But it's up to us," he said.

Target said Friday it still believed diversity was important to meet business goals. Target has rolled out a new program, Belonging at the Bullseye, which a Target spokesman said at the time had been in the works since early 2021.

The company declined to comment on the rally. Following the press conference, the headquarters entrance at Nicollet and 10th Street, which leads to the skyway, was closed and guards were directing people away from the building.

Other retailers like Walmart and Amazon have announced similar DEI moves, though some, including Costco, have reaffirmed their commitment.

Twin Cities Pride has already ousted the Target from sponsoring the annual parade and festival because of its decision this past Friday to scale back previous DEI goals.

Hussein, who has spoken at a variety of social justice protests in the Twin Cities metro, said the decision signaled to people of color that diversity beyond the checkout lane doesn't matter.

"In Minnesota, we know the metro areas are going to become more diverse, but there's something that is not changing," Hussein said. "Every high level position has not changed. It is white male dominated."

Levy-Armstrong said after posting on Facebook, she heard from several previously loyal Target customers who cut up their Target Circle cards, canceled their Shipt subscriptions, deleted the Target app and limited, if not stopped, all purchases made at the retailer.

Cheryl Persigehl, a Minneapolis resident, business management consultant who is now boycotting Target, read a letter submitted to the Star Tribune.

After 40 years of shopping, Persigehl cited Target's "well-earned reputation" as an employer and corporate citizen as key determinants in her loyalty. The retailer's reversal in its commitment to DEI changed Persigehl's allegiances.

"What were you thinking? Apart from this being an act of corporate cowardice, how can you possibly believe this will be "good for business"?"

After cutting up her Target Circle card, Chauntyll Allen, founder of Love First Community Engagement and director of criminal justice and activism at the Wayfinder Foundation, was handed another card from the crowd.

"We're cutting up cards today," Allen said to an animated crowd.

Rosemary Nevils, co-executive director of Guns Down, Love Up, a nonprofit focused on the impact of gun violence in African American and Indigenous communities, called on people of all political affiliations to boycott Target.

"We're gonna all have to do this together. If you're a poor Republican or a poor Democrat, you're gonna be victimized like everybody else," Nevils said.

Raeisha Williams, who owns Heritage Corp., a company that specializes in loose-leaf teas, said she spent a year building a relationship with Target through the retailer's training program.

But after a year of spending time and money drop shipping products Target might use on its shelves, the buyer she was working with was replaced, she said at the rally.

She said she never got a reply from Target again as she reached out for over a year.

As a customer, Williams said she felt Target was making choices that impact accessibility for communities of color. For example, her favorite laundry detergent, children's vitamins and other everyday items were locked up at the University Avenue Midway store in St. Paul. When Williams shopped in Edina and Woodbury on different days, those items were on open shelves.

"I have felt disrespected, disregarded, devalued and unappreciated," Williams said.

From Louie:

Michael Wilson, who is 43 and lives in downtown Minneapolis, said he thinks it was "irresponsible" for Target to end its DEI initiatives and that he and his children will be boycotting the store.

"It's very disappointing because my kids love Target, and I just shopped Target the other day online, I'm not going to lie," Wilson said.

He noted, however, that he has no problem with removing the DEI initiatives if Target implemented a "true meritocracy" for its hiring process and overall policies.

Others were more straightforward with their criticism. Barbara Gurten, a 75-year old South St. Paul resident, came to the press conference dressed as "Mr. Monopoly" from the economics-based board game Monopoly.

She said it doesn't make sense to her from a business perspective why the company would want to abandon the initiatives it laid out not long ago.

"It's embarrassing for Minnesotans to have a corporation in the state that doesn't value DEI, and it seems to me like a no-brainer," Gurten said. "They need to explain why it's not important."

In a comment to the Star Tribune, Dr. Enid Logan, associate professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota who specializes in Blackness in America, said, "it will be difficult for Target to regain the trust of Black communities in particular, given that it takes these actions just days before the start of Black History Month and only days into Trump's second term."

"This must cause all of us to seriously question the commitment of those corporations and brands that have so insistently tooted their own horns as our most solid allies, and sought to convince us even to identify with them personally."

Members of the Brass Solidarity band opened and closed the rally with music, adding pro-boycott messages into their songs such as, "Ain't going to let no corporation turn me around."