Philly Pride Organization Told Target Sponsors To Kick Rocks
Philly Pride 365 declined to work with the nationally boycotted retailer, Target. According to Axios, the Philadelphia organization turned down the mega-corporation's sponsorship for its Pride Month Kickoff. Target confirmed the organization rejected its offer, stating 'that they were not entering agreements with corporate entities this year.'
Philly Pride 365 has secured multiple sponsors, many of which are local. The organization is working with NRG, Penn Medicine, and the Philadelphia Union. Deciding against working with the brand comes as no surprise to many. Target has been the target of a national boycott since doing away with its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in 2025.
While Target hopes to lure patronage with the gesture, other companies are stepping back. Nationwide, 39% of corporations are scaling back external Pride Month engagements this year, according to Gravity Research data.
Dangling dollars during Pride may appear supportive, yet the continued elimination of DEI initiatives is even more so. As the company sends a message that inclusion is not a priority, Black, POC, and LGBTQIA organizations have decided to fall back. The company has seen a 7% decrease in sales over the course of the first quarter of 2025.
This Pride season, the company has decided not to feature Pride merchandise as it has done in previous years. Similarly, the company has removed many of its Black-owned merchandise from shelves.
While many Black businesses have fully supported the boycott, brand influencer Tabitha Brown has received backlash for her seemingly continued support of Target.
The author and actress was caught in a firestorm of backlash after encouraging her fans to continue shopping at the retailer. While Brown's message emphasized supporting the remaining Black brands at Target, many took offense at the suggestion.
Not to be deterred, the Donna's Recipe founder posted a video doubling down on her statements. Ironically, she believes her support of the conglomerate is a byproduct of uplifting Black people.
'To all the people in the comments and my DMS with your uneducated hate messages…There is no amount of hate and ignorance that is going to stop me from using my platform and my voice to support and uplift small businesses, Black-owned businesses, Black content creators, and Black authors,' Brown said.
As many companies drop their commitment to uplifting marginalized communities, those communities are dropping their allegiance to these companies. Not all money is good money, and organizations like Philly Pride 365 are making that abundantly clear.
RELATED CONTENT: Tabitha Brown Claps Back At Haters: 'No Amount Of Hate Will Stop Me From Uplifting Black Creators' As Target Boycott Impacts Authors
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