A boycott against corporations scaling back on diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI efforts, is creating buzz on social media as posts urge people to refrain from shopping at major retailers on Feb. 28.
The economic blackout calls for consumers to not buy anything unless it is from a small business. While the origin of the protest is unclear, an Instagram post from the user “theonecalledjadi” spoke on behalf of the group “The People’s Union USA” pleading for people to participate in the act of resistance.
The post has generated 6 million views and 275,000 likes. “The economy does not belong to the rich, it belongs to us,” his post reads.
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Another organization, the non-profit Until Freedom, which participates in community activism, showed support for the Feb. 28 blackout in an Instagram post. Until Freedom organized a boycott of its own against Target for rolling back on its DEI initiatives.
“When companies like Target decide to eliminate initiatives focused on carrying products from Black or other minority-owned businesses, they’re testing us,” posted the group on social media.
Actor and comedian John Leguizamo shared a post on Instagram supporting the Feb. 28 protest. The post tells people to not shop at Target, Walmart or Amazon. “We want them to see that WE have the power.”
Organizers said the boycott is just the start. United Freedom said the protest will kick off a series of March boycotts. “Do not shop where you are not supported. We need something different.” The People’s Union is planning a week-long Amazon boycott starting March 7 through March 14.
What companies are rolling back on DEI?
President Donald Trump took action within his first few weeks in office to eliminate federal DEI programs, and many companies followed his lead.
Google said it is reassessing its hiring targets when originally the company prioritized increasing the number of employees from underrepresented groups. Google has contracts with the Defense Departments and is in the process of trying to secure artificial intelligence contracts with the federal government.
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Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, canceled its DEI programs as CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to align the values of his company with Trump’s policies. The vice president of the company’s human resources said Google will no longer have representation goals based on race or gender.
Walmart made changes to its DEI initiatives, which included their removal from an annual benchmark index from an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, the Human Rights campaign.
Ford Motor Co. said it would no longer use quotas for minority dealerships and suppliers, as well as joining Walmart in no longer participating in the annual survey that measures diversity hiring.
Some companies are straying away from 2020 policies that prioritized diversity throughout the workplace in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Joelle Emerson, co-founder and CEO of diversity strategy and consulting firm Paradigm told USA TODAY in 2024 that 63% of companies have a dedicated diversity, equity and inclusion budget, up from 54% six months before the statement.
In the wake of a second Trump presidency and a conservative “anti-woke” movement, companies are changing their DEI or hiring policies.
