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.

Several Black founders and brand owners are speaking out amid calls for a boycott of major retailers rolling back DEI.

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

Owners of brands that were championed by Target before it rolled back DEI efforts say a boycott would harm their brands, and encouraged customers to support them.