By Dianne Anderson

Pastors are calling on the community to join forces for some good old-school tried and true, historically proven, methods of getting companies to pay attention to the thing they love the most – money and lots of it.

If Black buyers pull together and join the “Forty-Day fast” against Target and Walmart, it could mean a big hit to their bottom line.

Those companies have removed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs from almost every area of impact, from jobs to supplier diversity contracts.

On Tuesday, the community was invited to attend or live-stream a conference announcing the Forty-Day Fast, hosted by Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE) and Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches (IECAAC).

Community activist Rev. Samuel Casey said most people only remember the 1955 bus boycott, but the original 1953 Shreveport Louisiana Boycott was economic based, and was powerful enough to move the system.

That boycott looked to fight racial segregation and discrimination in local businesses, including public transportation.

As part of this month’s nationwide 40-day fast to restore DEI policy, the hope is that it will create another layer of awareness of how programs have always favored equity for whites. The fast runs from March 5 to April 17.

In recent history, white men were able to tap GI Benefits from serving in the military, while Black veterans were typically excluded from housing or education loans because of discrimination. Later, white women, with Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) programs, also benefited greatly.

“The reality is that people see the economic base and viability of the Black community, and how the policies not only affect Black people, but other people of color, and it benefits white women,” said Pastor Casey, executive director of COPE.

He said the other challenge is that Target has not lived up to its promise at a time when the nation was stunned by the brutal officer-involved murder of George Floyd.

“Target made a commitment after George Floyd to invest over $2 billion in HBCUs,” he said. “We want them to make good on that promise, and continue to fight for diversity for some of the most marginalized communities that have been underserved and historically patronized their establishments.”

And, the Black dollars flowing into the big box chains is significant.

Many studies show Blacks represent $1.3 to $1.6 trillion annually in recent years of buying power within the U.S. economy. McKinsey & Company’s, “Black Consumers and the Opportunity for Growth and Equity” projected that Black consumers would reach $1.7 trillion by the end of 2024.

But despite how the Trump Administration federally slammed DEI initiatives, some bigger corporations have refused to buckle under pressure, or fall in line with anti-DEI, including Costco, JPMorgan Chase, and Microsoft, signifying that social responsibility makes good business sense.

This season of Lent, the Forty-Day Economic Fast calls for prayer and reflection, and urges corporate leaders to acknowledge their injustice, as well as community education and mobilization around DEI. Part of the plan is Black dollars that would be spent at the big-box chains, instead should be spent at local Black and Brown businesses and organizations that support economic equity.

They are also calling for community action with letters, phone calls, and public comments pushing immediate reinstatement of DEI policies.

Bishop Kelvin Simmon said the project, both national and local in scope, is important to spur the community to make a sacrifice, just as those who have historically banded together for the greater good.

He said that corporate America has taken Black consumers for granted and their immense economic power year after year.

“The corporations that have turned their backs on DEI policies that they put in to help people of color are now turning their backs on that, knowing that we African Americans have helped them be as successful as they are,” said Simmons, president of the Inland Empire Concerned African-American Churches.

He acknowledges that some bigger companies have kept their DEI programs intact, which is great, but as importantly, he wants to make sure Black businesses, and small businesses of color, are supported.

“We want to patronize them directly,” he said. “We will protect small mom-and-pop businesses of color, especially African American businesses which will be harmed if we don’t do our best to take care of them.”

Galvanizing the community and people of color against the end of DEI programs at two of the largest companies in the country is not a knee-jerk reaction, he said, but strategic. Steps are in place to protect, support and promote local Black businesses.

The clear message is for Black buyers to reject companies that reject them.

“We are a big portion of their profits and that was, is, and will always be an insult to our community. It’s important to let them know that they can’t just treat us as a throwaway,” he said.

To learn more, see the national petition:
https://www.targetfast.org/

To see the Target announcement of $2 billion to be spent with Black business:
https://corporate.target.com/press/release/2021/04/target-commits-to-spending-more-than-2-billion-wit

Or, see https://copesite.org/get-involved/