Pastor Jamal Bryant has apologized for “being out of touch” after feeling the heat for “ending” of his “Target Fast.”
On Tuesday (March 10), Bryant said on Instagram that his Target fast had ended.
“It’s been a journey. At noon we will be giving an update on the @targetfast40 ….This has been the most sustained effective boycott by our people since the Montgomery bus boycott,” he wrote.
The boycott started in February 2025 and was organized by Minneapolis organizers Dr. Nekima Levy Armstrong, Monique Cullars-Doty and Jaylani Hussein. The Atlanta-based pastor announced that he would participate during the season of Lent as a 40-day fast from the retailer.
Bryant encouraged fellow Christians to join him by boycotting Target and other companies that do not support DEI initiatives. After a year of pushing the boycott, on March 11, Bryant announced it’s conclusion.
Apology
Bryant’s “premature” announcement was met with social pushback. On an episode of his Let’s Be Clear podcast, Bryant clarified his statement.
Per Hollywood Unlocked, Bryant apologized for his misguided and abrupt statement.
“The target fast that began the first week of March of 2025 was just to go 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Easter. And in so doing, we understood out of the footprint and the blueprint of the Civil Rights Movement that power concedes nothing without a demand, so says Frederick Douglass.“
“And so we asked for four things. We asked that there would be a reimagining of DEI. We asked that there would be a redress around the inclusion of HBCUs in partnership. We asked that there would be a funding in Black banks. And we asked that there will be an honoring of the commitment of $2 billion for George Floyd that was pledged after his murder.“
“300,000 of you signed up at ‘Target Fast’ and said we’re going to be a part of this movement for 40 days. 40 days came and gone, and yet you stuck in there. You held to the commitment, you didn’t waver, you kept driving, and you didn’t go in. I want to take a moment and personally thank you. We’ve had an amazing impact, this generation has, on a Fortune 500 company that so many people thought was too big to fail.“
Bryant emphasized that he is not encouraging anyone to end the broader boycott.
“What I did yesterday was report what it is that we’ve asked for,” he said. “I’ve not made to the community any updates as to what has taken place. So as a consequence, I felt it my responsibility to share where it is that we are and my satisfaction or dissatisfaction with it. But I never encouraged people to go back in Target or to start shopping there.”
“‘Target Fast’ was just a strategy and a tactic of the ‘Target Boycott.’ It was not to take its place. Boycotts are in fact riddled with a demand. But I wanted you to know that I’ve heard your emphatic outcry. That it wasn’t just about those four, but Target in the community’s estimation was a prime candidate for cancellation. Saying no matter what happened, you were not going back.“
Bryant concluded his video taking accountability for his actions and admitted to being “out of touch.”
“I was reading from a different sheet of music. I 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, and sensed what it is that the community were demanding. It’s much greater than those four, and I’ve heard you, overwhelmingly so. And not having a good read of the room, I take full responsibility of.”
Applauding the women who behind the movement
Within the same episode, Bryant took time to applaud the civil rights activists who started the boycott. He acknowledged their leadership while clarifying his role in the movement.
“I wanted to give redress to some things, and I hope that you’ll lend me the time to do it. I am the son of a pioneering womanist theologian, the late Dr. Cecilia Bryant. I am the brother of an amazingly brilliant sister psychologist, Dr. Thema Bryant. I am the husband of a brilliant and insightful prophetic witness, and Dr. Kerri Bryant. I am surrounded by brilliant, beautiful Black women. And so in no ounce of my bones or blood would I ever try to co-opt what it is that Black women are building.“