Target was one of the most outspoken supporters of DEI. Its changed its tune | News [Video]

New York (CNN) — Target was one of corporate America’s most forceful supporters of diversity and inclusion initiatives and vowed to support Black Americans in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder by police in Target’s home city of Minneapolis in 2020. But less than five years later, Target has dialed back its high-profile DEI program.

In 2020, Target CEO Brian Cornell said Floyd’s murder, which took place just 10 minutes from Target’s headquarters, had a personal impact on him and Target employees, and Cornell vowed to reopen one of Target’s stores damaged in protests against police violence.

George Floyd “could have been one of my Target team members,” Cornell later said.

Months after the murder, Target pledged to increase its Black workforce by 20% throughout the company over three years and take other steps to “advance racial equity,” including establishing an executive Racial Equity Action and Change committee to “focus specifically on how we can drive lasting …