Essence Fest has always been more than a festival. It’s a cultural homecoming for Black Women, a place to see each other, celebrate each other, and remember our power. I’ve been part of Essence Fest as a vendor, a speaker, a customer, and a business leader. I know firsthand what it feels like when Black Women pour into each other in one space.
This week, an e-blast from Essence went out with the subject line: “Our sponsors are bringing the vibes to Essence Fest.” And one of those major sponsors? Target.
Target has been a staple at Essence Fest for years. Every time I’ve attended, their booth has been one of the biggest and busiest. People stood in lines for hours, leaving with tote bags, beauty products, and whatever was free that day. But that was before this summer, before the active boycott.
Target is facing a boycott for quietly rolling back its DEI commitments. They dissolved their REACH committee, cut support for Black and LGBTQ+ products, and stepped away from the promises they made to us in 2020. Their own CEO admitted they pulled Black- and LGBTQ-themed products in response to backlash, not to protect us, but to protect the comfort of others.
So, is showing up in our cultural spaces really an act of “community support,” or just another marketing strategy?
Essence Fest is powerful because it centers Black Women
But at what point do we remind these brands and ourselves that our trust, our presence, and our dollars are worth more than free tote bags and flashy activations? At what point do we decide that we matter more than a contract?
These are questions I’ve had to face myself. I’ve turned down major partnerships and walked away from checks that looked good on paper but didn’t honor my values. Saying no is hard but necessary when your integrity is on the line.
If you’re going to go this year, make sure you move with purpose:
- Do not go to the Target activation.
- Leave the free bags and samples behind.
- Spend your money with Black-owned vendors and amplify their names.
Show Essence Fest and every brand that our presence and our dollars come with power and expectations.
Target is watching
They are waiting to see how we show up. If you stand in that line, if you take those free bags and samples, you are sending a message. You are confirming that we don’t care if they roll back their commitments. You are telling them we’re still here, still supporting, no matter what they do.
We are losing too many Black businesses and cultural spaces because we keep letting these lines blur. We forget that economic protest isn’t just about saying “no” to a brand, it’s about saying “yes” to us. Real support requires more than showing up, it demands alignment, intention, and accountability.
This moment isn’t just about Target. It’s about all the brands that show up loudly when it’s convenient and retreat when it gets hard. It’s about whether we will keep letting them center themselves in our spaces without questioning what that costs us.
Also, we need to stop comparing the Target boycott to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. That boycott worked because the community was consolidated in one city, moving together every single day. They held hands, walked together, and achieved clear, measurable results. Today, we’re navigating a different landscape, trying to move as a collective across states, screens, and algorithms. It’s new ground for many of us, and it feels complicated and blurry. We’re learning in real time what it means to act nationally while still holding local commitments.
And we haven’t seen real results from our boycott of Target.
We say we want liberation, we say we want to keep Black businesses alive, and we say we want equity.
Those words mean nothing if we leave our standards at the door when it’s time to dance and celebrate.
About Nikki Porcher: Nikki Porcher is a 2x Thought Leader of The Year, founder of the award-winning organization Buy From A Black Woman, and host of the top-rated podcast The Nikki Porcher Show. Over the last decade, she’s supported over 700 Black women business owners and built a community of 266.8K supporters, and during the pandemic, she helped Black women generate over $6.12 Million in revenue. Through her recently launched platform Buy From A Black Business, she’s expanding her impact to support all Black-owned businesses across the Black community.
For more information on Nikki Porcher, visit her website
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