Black Author Asks Supporters To Stop Buying His Books At Target Amid DEI Cutbacks

Frederick Joseph says he can't stand for Target's shallow commitment toward marginalized groups.

Frederick Joseph, an author known for his race-focused books, has asked supporters to stop buying his books at Target after it announced cutbacks to its diversity, equity, and inclusive initiatives.

He shared his thoughts in a video on Instagram Threads. In the two-minute clip, he called out how Target capitalized on the growing trend toward DEI when it seemed beneficial.

View on Threads

“For me as an author, this is a particularly interesting moment in that I’ve had a pretty solid relationship with Target since my debut book,” explained Joseph,. “That being said, they did these things when it was financially advantageous, right?… So when it was like, quote, unquote, ‘woke makes money,’ let’s partner with Black people.”

Joseph rose to fame in 2020 for his debut work, The Black Friend: On Being A Better White Person, a resource for white people to help advance social and racial justice. Since then, he has become an advocate for uplifting Black voices and art, releasing his first picture book with Disney based on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Joseph will release This Thing Of Ours in May of this year.

He continued, “Now that [Donald] Trump is in office, and there’s this, you know, sort of anti-Black, anti-woke agenda sweeping through not just the federal government, but also corporations around the country…And then I’m sure that when the pendulum swings back, they’ll be back on it again. I can’t stand for that.”

This seemingly shallow commitment to supporting diverse businesses concerned Joseph. The decision resulted in him telling buyers to stop sourcing his book at Target.

“So as an author, despite the fact that Target has been one of the main retailers that people have supported me through, and it’s a big blow to do this, I’m no longer suggesting Target,” he said.

Instead, he encouraged shoppers to purchase his novels and pre-order his newest work at other retailers that have maintained their support of DEI causes. His input adds another layer of support from Black entrepreneurs at Target as the boycott begins.