Critics are calling for shoppers to boycott Target over its DEI policy reversal – but black-owned brands are asking customers to keep shopping at Target stores.

Consumers who want to boycott Target should instead spend their dollars on products from Black-owned businesses at the retailer, said April Showers, founder and chief executive of toy, apparel and home goods brand Afro Unicorn, which has been sold at Target since 2022.

Anger at Target surged after it followed other companies that abandoned DEI programs, but Black-owned businesses that struggled to earn shelf space there urged critics to focus on buying minority-owned companies' products instead.

Chastity Garner Valentine, who has a million Facebook followers, boycotted Target in 2013 for not carrying plus-size clothing. She wrote an open letter to the retailer that went viral at the time. Target called her the next day and she became a brand ambassador as Target grew its offerings to include plus-sized clothes.

Owners of brands who were once championed by Target before the big-box retailer rolled back DEI efforts say a boycott would do more harm than supporting their brands would.

As retailer Target faces calls to boycott shopping there, the black-owned brands whose products it sells are pleading with consumers not to. Target is the latest to stop its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies,