Target faces renewed boycott calls after pulling costume critics call racist

Racial justice advocates are intensifying their boycott of Target after the retailer removed a children's Halloween costume from sale and apologised for the item, which critics said evoked racist minstrel caricatures.

The costume, a 'Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown' outfit, was promoted with an image of a Black child modelling the get-up. Activists said the imagery recalled Jim Crow-era minstrel shows, which entrenched stereotypes in popular culture and were used to justify discrimination and segregation.

Target said in a statement: "As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale."

The company added that it was looking closely at how the item came to be sold and what needed to change to prevent a recurrence.

However, boycott organisers argue the incident is a symptom of the retailer's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In January 2025, the Minneapolis-based company ended its three-year DEI programme, stopped reporting to external groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, and replaced a scheme supporting Black- and minority-owned businesses with a new 'Belonging' strategy.

Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said the episode was systemic. "We need the right people in the room and if Target had had the right people in this room, none of this would have ever happened," she said.

Minnesota activists had earlier organised a national Target boycott, which they say contributed to a 33% fall in the company's stock price and wiped out over $20 billion in market value.

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota, urged more people to join the boycott. "This is how we set to tell every corporation in America that the American people are awake and the fight that we're fighting is real," he said.

The controversy comes as Target's sales were beginning to recover from earlier customer dissatisfaction and perceptions of declining store quality.