FILE – The Target logo displayed on a sign outside a store, Nov. 18, 2025, in Salem, NH Charles Krupa/AP hide caption toggle caption Charles Krupa/AP Retailer Target pulled a children’s Halloween costume from its shelves on Monday after widespread backlash on social media, apologizing for selling a garment that critics said evoked racist caricatures of minstrels. Critics say the costume, along with its promotional image of a black boy modeling the outfit, is reminiscent of Jim Crow-era minstrel show caricatures that incorporated stereotypes into popular culture and helped justify discrimination, segregation and racial violence. “As a company, we know we were 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,” Target said in a statement. “We know this is especially painful for our Black guests, team members and partners. Removing your costume is an important first step, and the company is closely watching how this happened and what needs to be changed to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” The disguise misstep occurred as Target’s sales began to recover from earlier moves by the company that alienated some customers and from the perception that the quality of its stores and merchandise had declined. It’s the latest controversy for the retailer, which joined companies like Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s in rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after President Donald Trump won the 2024 election. The “Kids’ Circus Clown Halloween Costume that Glows Under Black Light,” an orange and black circus clown costume, now removed from Target’s website, featured gloves, a top hat and a smiling mask with big teeth. ‘It’s not just wrong’ “A Jim Crow-era minstrel costume is not just wrong. It’s a deeply harmful symbol of racism that should never have been designed, approved or sold by Target,” said the Rev. Jamal Bryant, a Georgia pastor who led a 40-day boycott of “Target Fast” last year. “This shows that Target still lacks corporate diversity among decision makers and needs concrete internal change.” In January 2025, the Minneapolis-based corporation ended its three-year DEI program, stopped reporting to outside groups like the Human Rights Campaign, and ended a program focused on offering more products from Black- and minority-owned businesses, replacing it with a new “Belonging” strategy. The company previously stated that the murder of George Floyd was a catalyst for its DEI initiatives. Activist-organizers called for a boycott of Target, which lost approximately $12.4 billion in market value at the end of February from January. Minnesota civil rights activists, aside from Bryant, organized a national boycott of Target, resulting in a 33% drop in the corporation’s stock prices and wiping out more than $20 billion in market value. Target’s Recent Recovery Target has made a turnaround in recent months. The stock closed at $165.44 on Aug. 21, a new 52-week high, after a strong second quarter. On August 24, Target shares closed at $169.89. Target shares are up about 63% this year, a strong rebound from the depths of the boycott. The company’s turnaround strategy, launched by new CEO Michael Fiddelke after former CEO Brian Cornell resigned, includes store renovations, staff increases and more aggressive pricing. Target announced in March a plan to invest $2 billion in 2026, including $1 billion in additional operating investments, with plans to open more than 30 new stores this year as part of its path to 300 new stores by 2035, while investing in more than 130 planned full store remodels. Bruce Winder, a retail analyst and former retail buyer, says inventory mistakes, like the recent Prada and Gucci controversies, “can happen to the best of us.” “These things happen over time. I think the most important thing for Target, and they did, was to quickly take responsibility, quickly apologize, acknowledge that this was a big mistake and remove the product from the shelves,” Winder said. Boycott organizers undeterred Organizers of the Target boycott in Minneapolis, including Nekima Levy Armstrong and community leaders Monique Cullars-Doty and Jaylani Hussein, remain steadfast in their calls for divestment. They have continued to pressure the company to restore its DEI programs and continue its commitments to Black communities, and say the costume controversy is a refresher of its mission. “It’s important for people to understand that the Target boycott never ended; that it was open-ended from the beginning, unless and until Target changed course in its decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Armstrong, an organizer of the national Target boycott. “What we’ve seen is Target engaging in public relations campaigns: recruiting high-visibility black ministers to meet with them, partnering with (rapper and businessman) Jay-Z, all kinds of different shenanigans to deflect the fact that they’re abandoning their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and capitulating to the Trump administration.” Hussein, another boycott organizer, said the costume incident was “not surprising.” “It was almost predictable because of Target’s behavior, and I think this will increase the momentum of the boycott. More people will be angry,” he said. “It’s not just a costume incident. Right now there are many people in this country in many parts who have changed their shopping culture, who have found other places to invest their money.” Target Corporation shares closed at $163.47 on August 25, falling 3.78% from their previous close the previous day.
