- Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant launches an electronic protest against Dollar General, accusing the retailer of retreating from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
The new campaign follows an extended boycott of Target, which Bryant now declares "canceled" due to a lack of progress on racial equity demands.
Unlike the Target boycott, the Dollar General protest avoids a full shopping boycott, citing the store’s importance in food-insecure communities.
The leader of a nationwide boycott of Target is setting his sights on Dollar General, the popular discount chain with a network of stores reaching nearly every corner of America.
Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, and his coalition are launching a new electronic protest against the discount retailer, alleging it has “walked away” from its commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Target is canceled since they have betrayed and walked away from our community, and we've gone on from there,” Bryant said in a USA TODAY report. “Our next focus will be around Dollar General.”
The action comes at a bad time for Dollar General. The chain is closing about 140 stores nationwide as part of what the company called a "store portfolio optimization review."
Why Dollar General?
According to Bryant, Dollar General—like other major companies—has bowed to conservative political pressure and quietly scaled back its DEI programs without public acknowledgment.
“Dollar General also needs to be held accountable for failing to invest in the very Black and low-income communities that make up the backbone of their customer base,” he said. “This isn’t just a corporate retreat − it’s a betrayal of the people they profit from.”
The campaign is not a traditional boycott. Instead, Bryant’s group will mount a "mass technological campaign," including a flood of emails, phone calls, and social media messages directed at Dollar General’s corporate offices, demanding the reinstatement and strengthening of its DEI efforts.
“The best way to change a system,” Bryant said, “is to show them that we’re watching—and we won’t be silent.”
Strategic protest, Community Considerations
Though many protests involve consumer boycotts, Bryant emphasized a more nuanced approach for Dollar General due to its presence in rural, underserved areas.
“In parts of the country where Dollar General locations are in a food desert... it may be the only place people can get produce and vegetation,” he said. “We want to make an impact without having an adverse impact on those who really need a Dollar General.”
Dollar General has more than 20,000 stores across the U.S. as of April. Bryant said his group’s demands include restoring DEI infrastructure, creating a community reinvestment fund, expanding contracts to Black-owned vendors, and addressing systemic racism within the company’s culture.
Even those who don’t shop at Dollar General can participate, Bryant said, pointing to high-profile protests against companies like Tesla as evidence of brand pressure from broader public sentiment.
The ongoing Target campaign
Bryant’s latest protest builds on a months-long campaign targeting Target. Initially launched during Lent as a “Target Fast,” the action has since evolved into a “Target blackout.” His group has accused Target of abandoning DEI principles and has made four formal demands, including investment in Black-owned banks and partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities.
Other organizations have also mobilized against Target, including Minnesota-based civil rights leaders and Latino activists behind the #LatinoFreeze social media movement. The People’s Union has held multiple one-day and weekly economic boycotts, including a three-day blackout in April.
On May 25, Bryant’s coalition joined more than 50 Black churches in peaceful demonstrations outside Target stores to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, urging renewed attention to racial justice and corporate responsibility.