National Black Justice Coalition Slams Target’s Betrayal of the LGBTQ+ Community, as Retail Giant Caves to Homophobic Extremists and Begins Removal and Relocation of PRIDE Collection from Stores
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Statement from Dr. David J. Johns, executive director, of the National Black Justice Coalition, the nation’s leading Black LGBTQ+ civil rights organization:
“It is beyond disappointing that Target is caving to violent political extremists and betraying its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community by removing and relocating items in its Pride Collection from some of its stores. It’s giving pride pimping, which is beyond problematic.
“Let’s be clear: removing items from its Pride Collection, or hiding them in the back of the store – is tantamount to insisting we all go back in the closet. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights and people are under attack, at a time when extremist political forces want to exterminate us, pushing our diverse history, experiences, and ways of being into the shadows – we need everyone to speak out for us – including major corporations like Target, and Budweiser.
“This pride, Target, like hundreds of other major companies will declare their support to the LGBTQ+ community, switch their logos to rainbow colors, drape everything in pride flags, and sell a range of products specifically designed to boost their bottom lines. They will do this because the vast majority of the American people support LGBTQ+ rights.
“But you can’t have it both ways. You can’t only support human rights where you are “safe” from confrontation. Shame on Target.”
