Target pledges $2 billion to support Black-owned businesses

In the past year, major companies like Walmart and Ulta Beauty have rolled out their own racial equality commitments , such as including more Black people in advertising and reducing the number of police or security guards in stores.

Generation Z is more concerned about social justice than previous generations, according to Piper Sandler's annual teen survey released Wednesday.

Target said it will launch a program to identify and support promising minority entrepreneurs and add products from more than 500 Black-owned brands to its shelves or website.

The discount store said Wednesday that it will spend a total of more than $2 billion working with Black-owned businesses by 2025.

“We have a long history of working with diverse businesses, but we can do more to inspire change across the retail industry, support Black communities, and ensure Black guests feel welcome when they shop at Target , ” said Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington.

Protests across the country have increased pressure on business leaders to increase racial equity and do more than just cut checks or risk losing business. The uneven death toll from the pandemic and the economic damage from the recession have also highlighted the country's huge racial gaps in health care and economic opportunity.

Companies have made recommendations around diversity and inclusion as consumers pay attention , and some are putting money where their values ​​align , with teens the company surveyed naming racial equality as their most important political and social issue.

Macy 's , Sephora and Gap are among a growing number of retailers that have signed on to the 15 Percent Pledge, which aims to have Black-owned products on shelves proportional to the percentage of Black people in the country.

Among Target's changes is that it will more actively seek out advertising agencies , suppliers , construction companies and other black-owned businesses. It said it will create a program called Forward Founders for early-stage startups led by black entrepreneurs to help them develop, test and scale products to be sold at mass retailers like Target.

It will be modeled after Target Accelerators, a program for startups that the retailer uses to nurture emerging brands and eventually sell fresh, exclusive products that will attract customers and help differentiate it from competitors.

Target said it already has 50 Black-owned and Black-founded brands in some categories, such as beauty .

Target previously pledged to increase Black representation in its workforce by 20 percent over the next three years. The company and its foundation also gave $10 million to nonprofits that work to address barriers in the Black community.

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Black-owned business