Keeping it Real: Rights, Liberties and Leveraging Boycotts to Drive Change. Is It Working?

Overview: The fight for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) is a continuation of the fight for civil rights, and boycotts have been used as a powerful tool to express dissent and demand change. Activists have called for a nationwide boycott of companies that have turned away from their minority workers and DEIA commitments to support Donald Trump’s racist attacks against them. With the buying power of America’s Black community expected to reach nearly $1.98 trillion by the end of 2025, this economic power can drive a lot of conversations for change.

S.E. Williams

History teaches us that boycotts are a powerful means of expressing dissent and/or demanding change.

Not only are  many in the nation pushing back against the aggressive and often unconstitutional attacks on our democracy by the current president, people everywhere have joined the movement  doing what they can do to push back against Donald Trump’s authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.

In January, one way organizers encouraged constituents to fight back against Trump’s overreach,  especially regarding his attack on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibly (DEIA), was by boycotting major retailers like Target, Amazon and others who cancelled their DEIA programs to curry favor with the president. In response, many across the country heeded the call to boycott.   

Those who understand and support the DEIA movement were appalled by the president’s racist attacks on the nationwide initiative and angered by the many companies–like Target, for example–that immediately ‘bowed-down’ to the demands of the newly re-elected and sworn-in president. 

Since before his re-election, through his inauguration, to today, Trump continues spewing attacks against DEIA. He has declared it “discriminates against white men.”  His first day in office signed orders not only targeting racial equality, but also environmental justice and discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities. His pressure and efforts to eliminate programs in support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) are all encompassing. 

Organizers made a decision not to sit idly by as the Trump administration pulled the rug from under every hard fought gain made by minority communities beginning with the blood-soaked victories of the Civil Rights era. Activists have learned two key lessons over the years. First, that power concedes nothing without a demand; and second, that money speaks in a language the rich and powerful understand. They called for boycotts. 

As we enter the eighth month under Trump’s leadership this time around, some are wondering whether the boycotts are working. Collectively, the Black community has the economic power to make such demands. And when combined with the support of other impacted groups and Americans at large who believe in fairness, justice and equality, that economic power increases exponentially. 

The publication, blackwallstreet.com, reports the buying power among America’s Black community alone is expected to reach nearly $1.98 trillion by the end of 2025. This amount of money can drive a lot of conversations for change. Black Wall Street also reports that with nearly two trillion dollars in economic buying power, nearly  67% of Black Americans say “they are likely to seek out new brands if businesses fail to align with causes they care about.”

The fight for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility is a continuation of the fight for Civil Rights. “We know that civil rights cannot be won without the power of voices, boycotts, and student activism, all of which the Constitution protects.  The civil rights era proved that rights and liberties are deeply entwined and ultimately complementary.

ACLU

One of the retail chains targeted for boycott is Target. Currently, “Target’s foot traffic in nearly 2,000 stores [nationwide] has declined sharply and continues to decline,” said organizer Jaylani Hussein late last month. The reality that foot traffic in Target stores remains sluggish eight months into the boycott, comes as good news to many who continue to support the boycott. 

Social justice advocates see this as evidence the boycott is working. Although some industry analysts attempt to discredit the impact of the Target boycott by proclaiming its sales were declining before the boycott went into effect. I think the reality of fewer people shopping at Target stores since the onset of the boycott, speaks for itself when that data is translated into the potential loss of revenue.

So far, during the second quarter of 2025, foot traffic at Target is down 3.1%  year over year. fortune.com notes that if “the correlation between its foot traffic reporting and Target’s total revenues reporting in the previous five quarters is consistent, Target will report a total revenue decline for 2nd quarter 2025, compared to the second quarter of 2024, of between 1.8% and 4.4%. Even on the low end of this (1.8%), that’s an approximate loss of 2nd quarter revenue of  $453.6 million. Keep in mind that this only reflects potential 2nd quarter losses for the retail giant. Total losses for the year could be well over a billion dollars. 

Sentiments regarding the disruption of DEIA programs and the intentional efforts to thwart progress of minorities and other underserved and disadvantaged communities continue to propel people to make conscious decisions regarding where they choose to spend their money. We can continue to shop with companies, who in turn, take that money and use it to make big contributions to Trump, his allies and all their racist attacks against the intentions of DEIA initiatives; or we can shop with those who support DEIA.  

This month, The People’s Union USA (TPUU) has called for a nationwide boycott of the following companies and their primary affiliates. According to TPUU, these companies are being targeted because they “fuel greed, exploit workers, and back the very system we are standing against.” They have also turned away from their minority workers and DEIA commitments to support the ignorance and hatred of Donald Trump.

They include:

Amazon and its affiliates 

Whole Foods Market, Audible, Twitch, Ring, Blink, Eero, and all Amazon smart devices, IMDb and Amazon Prime Video/Studios.

Uber and its affiliates

Uber Rides, Uber Eats and Postmates (owned by Uber).

PepsiCo and its affiliates

Pepsi beverages (all varieties), Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Tropicana, Lipton (partnership with Unilever), Aquafina, Quaker Oats (Life, Chewy bars, Rice A Roni, Cap’n Crunch, etc.), Frito-Lay (Doritos, Cheetos, Lay’s, Ruffles, Tostitos, SunChips, Fritos, Smartfood, etc.), Yum! Brands (PepsiCo lifetime beverage partner), Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, The Habit Burger Grill.

Target locations, brands and products

All Target retail locations and Target.com, Up & Up brand (Target’s in-house generic), Market Pantry and Good & Gather brands, Threshold, Cat & Jack, Room Essentials, A New Day, and other Target exclusive labels.

Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University determined that no more than about 3.5% of a population’s participation “is needed to create serious political change.” If we operate from the premise that no action is too small, we must believe that all of those small actions can coalesce into a powerful force for change. Spread the word about the boycotts. 

Let’s continue this movement to reinstate DEIA. Boycotting made a difference in the movement for Civil Rights; it buoyed the farmerworkers during the grape boycott; it helped end Apartheid in South Africa, and the list goes on. No action is too small. It is within our power to create the change we desire, but not without effort. Honoring the boycotts is a good place to begin.  

Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.