{"id":4869,"date":"2026-03-16T16:48:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/2026\/03\/jamal-bryant-apologizes-target-boycott\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T16:48:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:48:54","slug":"jamal-bryant-apologizes-target-boycott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/2026\/03\/jamal-bryant-apologizes-target-boycott\/","title":{"rendered":"Biblically Blasted Jamal Bryant Responds To Target Boycott Backlash, Apologizes For Being Out Of Touch\u2014\u2018This Week I Failed\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Pastor Jamal Bryant i<\/a>s clarifying his recent decision to end the year-long \u201cTarget Fast\u201d<\/a> after backlash erupted online, with critics believing the broader boycott against the retailer had been called off. <\/p>\n

\u201cI failed,\u201d said the New Birth Missionary Baptist church leader, who took accountability for being out of touch and denied being paid by the corporation.<\/p>\n

\"TARGETFAST
Source: Paras Griffin \/ Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to The Gri<\/em>o,<\/a> Bryant addressed the controversy during the 100th episode of his Let\u2019s Be Clear podcast, <\/a>where he apologized for the confusion caused by his earlier remarks and acknowledged he misread how the community viewed the protest.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis week, I failed\u2026I called for the end of the Target Fast,\u201d Bryant said on the podcast, explaining that many supporters were \u201cdisappointed, angry, frustrated, and bewildered\u201d by the announcement.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bryant Apologizes For Being \u201cOut Of Touch\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

During the podcast, Bryant admitted that his interpretation of the movement\u2019s progress did not align with the community\u2019s expectations, prompting him to publicly apologize.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI wanted you to know that I\u2019ve heard your emphatic outcry,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cI made assumptions that were not true. And I wanted to apologize to you for being a leader that was out of touch with what it is that the community wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Atlanta pastor, who leads New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, had launched the Target Fast as part of a broader protest against the retailer after criticism surrounding its diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments.<\/p>\n

However, Bryant emphasized that his personal fast ending should not be interpreted as the end of the national boycott noting that the Target Fast was just a strategy and a tactic of the Target boycott,\u201d stressing that it \u201cwas not to take its place,\u201d or being \u201ca leader that was out of touch with what it is that the community wanted.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also added that he did not want \u201chistory to record that I tried to stand in the way of the leadership of warrior women.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also stressed that neither he nor his church received compensation from the retailer, saying they can stand with \u201cclean hands and a pure heart, unbought and unbossed\u201d in the words of the late Hosea Williams. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Activists Say The Target Boycott Is Still Ongoing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As previously reported,<\/a> the boycott organizers quickly responded to Bryant\u2019s announcement, stressing that the broader protest remains active.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: the Target boycott is not over,\u201d boycott founder Dr. Nekima Levy Armstrong said in a statement released through CAIR Minnesota. \u201cThis is a grassroots movement led by communities demanding corporate accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Activist Tamika Mallory also echoed that sentiment in an interview with Roland Martin<\/a>, arguing that the economic pressure created by the boycott demonstrated the power of collective spending.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhat are we going to do next? What is the evolution even beyond Target? Which companies are next?\u201d Mallory said. \u201cThat\u2019s our collective power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Minnesota Organizers Reaffirm Boycott Where It Began<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports <\/a>that organizers in Minneapolis say the boycott remains strong in the city where the movement first gained traction. Activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, who initially called for the Target boycott on Feb. 1, 2025, joined organizers Monique Cullars Doty and Jaylani Hussein for a news conference outside Target\u2019s headquarters on Nicollet Mall.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The activists said Target has not met the boycott\u2019s demands and pushed back against any narrative that the protest had concluded. In the Minnesota Tribune, <\/a>Levy Armstrong criticized Bryant\u2019s earlier comments, saying he appeared to be taking credit for \u201ca movement built on the blood sweat and tears of the people of the state of Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryant Denies Claims Of Financial Incentives<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bryant also addressed speculation circulating on social media that he ended the fast after reaching a financial agreement with Target.<\/p>\n

According to Black Enterprise<\/em>,<\/a> the pastor firmly rejected those claims, saying neither he nor his church received compensation from the retailer.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAbsolutely not a dime for even our meetings,\u201d Bryant told Capital B Atlanta<\/em>. <\/a>\u201cI bought my own plane ticket, bought my own hotel. Target has never even bought me lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bryant also reiterated on his podcast that the protest movement was not centered around his leadership alone.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI am surrounded by brilliant, beautiful Black women,\u201d Bryant said, crediting activists such as Nina Turner, Nekima Levy Armstrong, and Tamika Mallory with leading the boycott. \u201cLet the record reflect and show that it was Black women that started this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Target Fast Was One Strategy In A Larger Movement<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bryant explained to Capital B<\/a><\/em> that Target Fast was designed to mobilize the Black church to support the boycott, not to replace it.<\/p>\n

The fast originally began as a 40-day campaign from Ash Wednesday to Easter in 2025, encouraging supporters to redirect spending toward Black-owned businesses and participate in collective economic action.<\/p>\n

Bryant said approximately 300,000 people signed up for the initiative, helping create momentum around the movement\u2019s economic demands.<\/p>\n

Those demands included restoring corporate DEI commitments, honoring a $2 billion pledge to Black businesses, increasing investments in Black banks, and creating business education partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

While Bryant acknowledged the fast has officially ended, he emphasized that the broader push for economic accountability remains far from finished.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe struggle continues,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cAnd the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Organizers say the boycott effort will continue as activists monitor whether Target follows through on the remaining demands tied to the movement.<\/p>\n

The post Biblically Blasted Jamal Bryant Responds To Target Boycott Backlash, Apologizes For Being Out Of Touch\u2014\u2018This Week I Failed\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Bossip<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pastor Jamal Bryant is clarifying his recent decision to end the year-long \u201cTarget Fast\u201d after backlash erupted online, with critics…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14044,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[10,9],"class_list":["post-4869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-rss","tag-culture","tag-hip-hop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14044"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}