A video erupted on social media showing Minnesota protesters lined up to buy salt and then return it over and over again in Target.
Participants repeatedly lined up to purchase salt, return it and repeat the process as a way to hold up lines, representing a desire “to melt ICE”, the SURJ-TC (Showing Up for Racial Justice Twin Cities) wrote online.
The organisation planned to repeat this tactic at five Twin Cities Target stores until the company spoke out against ICE. On the same day, nearly 100 leaders and supporters of SURJ-TC and Unidos gathered at the downtown Minneapolis Target for a sit-in.
Calls for a boycott intensified in recent weeks. On January 8, the day after an ICE agent shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good, about a half-dozen masked ICE agents forcefully detained two workers at Target’s Richfield, Minnesota, store.
Target boycotts came from all sides in the past decade. In 2016, a conservative group launched a boycott against Target after the company announced a policy allowing transgender customers and employees to use restrooms and fitting rooms corresponding to their gender identity. The backlash caused Target to invest in more single-occupancy restrooms to address critics’ concerns. In 2023, Target faced public outrage over its Pride Month merchandise, which conservatives said was inappropriate for children. The following year, Target sold Pride merchandise at fewer stores and faced counter-backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates as a result.
The organisers calling for Target to take a stand on ICE said they were buoyed by the example of the earlier DEI boycotts. They included a “Target fast”, a 40-day boycott launched by Black pastor and activist Rev Jamal Bryant. Later, it became a broader boycott movement that urged shoppers to refrain from spending at Target until it restored its commitments.
“We know that from a historical perspective, nonviolent activism and civic pressure always wins,” said Ulla Nilsen, a lead organiser with Unidos. “We have an administration that’s making everyone afraid. So we are calling on the CEO of Target and other businesses in Minnesota to stop being afraid because when we stand together, we will get through this.”
