Boycott leaders demand accountability from Target over racist Halloween costume

Civil rights leaders gathered outside Target’s Minneapolis headquarters Friday to demand accountability after a children’s Halloween costume that evoked the imagery of blackface and minstrelsy was pulled from the retailer’s shelves and website.

The press conference, held at noon at 1000 Nicollet Mall, drew the co-founders of the National Target Boycott along with community members and at least one self-described former customer.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, an attorney and founder of the Racial Justice Network, opened by noting the date’s significance in Black history. She said Emmett Till was murdered 71 years earlier, on Aug. 28, 1955, and that Rosa Parks later said his death was on her mind when she refused to give up her bus seat. Levy Armstrong also noted the March on Washington took place on Aug. 28, 1963.

“So August 28th holds significant power and importance within the Black community,” Levy Armstrong said.

Levy Armstrong said Target apologized for the costume but has not answered more fundamental questions.

“How did this happen in the first place? Who reviewed this costume, who approved it, who marketed it, who had the opportunity to stop it, and who was in the room when those decisions were made?” she said. “This wasn’t one person’s mistake.”

Beyond the corporate apology

Target, in a statement posted to social media, said it removed the costume and called it “an important first step.”

“We removed an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer for sale,” the company said. “As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners. … We are looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder emailed Target’s corporate communications team seeking comment ahead of publication, asking specifically about the costume’s internal approval process and how many stages of review it went through:

• Was the design done in-house or sourced from an outside vendor?
• Which teams are required to sign off on new products before they reach the assortment?
• Did the costume undergo any diversity, equity or cultural-sensitivity review, and did such a review still exist following Target’s 2025 rollback of its DEI program?
• Did any employee or reviewer flag concerns about the costume before it was listed for sale?
• What changes, if any, is Target making to its approval process going forward?
• How is the company responding to critics, including the Rev. Jamal Bryant and SOC Investment Group’s Tejal Patel, who say the incident reflects a lack of diversity among Target’s decision-makers?
• Is Target conducting or planning an internal review and, if so, what findings will be made public?
• MSR asked if a spokesperson or executive would be available for an on-the-record interview.

Target did not respond by the requested deadline.

The impact of corporate DEI rollbacks

Organizers said an apology is not enough. Levy Armstrong cited actress Viola Davis, who posted publicly that she does not accept Target’s apology.

Levy Armstrong said Target’s decision to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion commitments in early 2025, following President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting DEI practices, set the stage for the incident. She said Target donated $1 million to the Trump-Vance inaugural committee and did not push back against federal immigration enforcement activity in its stores during what organizers referred to as “Operation Metro Surge.”

Target has not fulfilled the $2.1 billion pledge it made to Black communities following the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, Levy Armstrong said, along with commitments on hiring, promotion and stocking more Black-owned brands.

“Target profited off of those promises because it positioned itself as the poster child for diversity, equity and inclusion,” she said.

Rooted in local activism

Monique Cullars-Doty, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, said the National Target Boycott began in Minnesota, not with national figures who she said later tried to claim credit for it.

“Let’s talk a little bit about, I’m Monique Cullars-Doty, co-founder of the original National Target Boycott, which started here, not Jamal Bryant, not Tamika Mallory, not Nina Turner,” she said. “It was started right here in the great state of Minnesota.”

Cullars-Doty said the costume was not a mistake. “That costume was made because somebody commissioned it to be made,” she said. “It was intentional, and the history behind minstrel shows and that costume is known.”

Cullars-Doty also raised the case of a man she identified as Mari Ali, saying he was wrongfully convicted as a teenager based on testimony from a Target-run crime lab, and called for his release. She separately said Target funded the Hennepin County Attorney’s office during a period when incarceration rates for Black boys and men rose sharply.

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota, said the boycott is not comparable to a passing consumer trend.

“This is not the NFL on a Sunday,” Hussein said. “This is shoppers across this country who have chosen to stand up for their values.”

Hussein said Target has suffered significant stock losses since the boycott began and characterized the company’s financial position as dire, saying Target received government support tied to tariffs. He also addressed a recent American Federation of Teachers announcement urging members to avoid back-to-school shopping at Target, saying the union’s members had already been supporting the existing boycott and that outside groups should not create confusion about who leads it.

Cheryl Persigehl, who described herself as a former Target customer of 40 years, said she stopped shopping at Target 20 months ago after the company scaled back its DEI commitments, and cited the company’s posture during immigration enforcement activity in its stores as a further reason.

“I am a white woman calling on other people who look like me to step up, cut up your Target card, stay away from the stores,” Persigehl said. “There are many other places to buy school supplies. There are many other places to buy Halloween candy and costumes, and there are many other places to buy your Christmas presents. Start planning now.”

Tiffany Lappe’ Dunlap, a member of the public, delivered brief remarks expressing anger at the company.

“We hate you, and we’re not playing around,” Dunlap said. “You done pissed us off.”

The National Target Boycott began Feb. 1, 2025, and organizers have described it as indefinite. The group is calling on Target to disclose how the costume passed through its review process, restore its DEI commitments, and provide a full public accounting of its $2.1 billion pledge to Black communities.

Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses at jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com.