BREAKING: Over 200 LGBTQ+ and Allied Organizations Call on Target, Business Community to Speak Out Against Extremist Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks

by HRC Staff •

Organizations that have signed on to the statement include National Education Association, National Association of Social Workers and National Women's Law Center, National Center for Transgender Equality, Equality Federation, Matthew Shepard Foundation, NMAC

WASHINGTON - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, GLSEN, Family Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Center for Lesbian Rights and National Black Justice Coalition, in partnership with more than 200 organizations, renewed their call for Target and the business community to reject and speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ extremism going into Pride Month. Additionally, the coalition stands in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ employees at companies like Target, as well as the designers of Pride merchandise, who have experienced horrendous, unhinged attacks while simply showing up to work. Harassment and threats of violence, anywhere and at any time, against good people just doing their jobs to make a living is completely unacceptable and irrational. As highlighted in the statement below, the coalition has communicated expectations that Target provide necessary security measures for employees’ safety while also showing support for the LGBTQ+ community by denouncing extremists.

The full coalition statement is as follows:

Recent pushback against businesses such as Anheuser-Busch and Target, blatantly organized by extremist groups, serves as a wake up call for all businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community. We’ve seen this extremist playbook of attacks before. Their goal is clear: to prevent LGBTQ+ inclusion and representation, silence our allies and make our community invisible. These attacks fuel hate against LGBTQ+ people, just as we’ve seen this year with more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that restrict basic freedoms and aim to erase LGBTQ+ people.

Extremist attacks and harassment of businesses for standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and values of diversity, equity and inclusion have challenged Target, and businesses more broadly, to lead – to demonstrate they mean what they say when investing in and standing with LGBTQ+ people, creatives, and organizations. Businesses must continue to lead and respond with unwavering support for LGBTQ+ employees, shareholders, customers, allies – and the broader community. When values of diversity, equity and inclusion are tested, businesses must defend them unequivocally.

Doubling down on your values is not only the right thing to do, it’s good for business. Research shows that if a brand publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights, Americans are 2x more likely to buy or use the brand. Americans ages 18-34 are 5.5x more likely to want to work at a company if it publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights.

It isn’t just LGBTQ+ consumers and communities: 70% of non-LGBTQ+ people believe companies should publicly support and include the LGBTQ+ community through practices like hiring, advertising and sponsorships (Accelerating Acceptance, 2023).

At this moment, it’s critical that Target champions equity and inclusion as it has for over a decade. Target consistently tops the list for brands that show genuine, authentic support of the LGBTQ+ community through outreach and policies. Target received recognition for outstanding commitment to DEI from the Executive Leadership Council in 2022. It’s time to prove the recognition was earned.

When it comes to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, there is no such thing as neutrality.

We’re calling on Target to:

  • release a public statement in the next 24 hours reaffirming their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community

  • put Pride merchandise back on the sales floor and online in full

  • ensure safety of team members who are on the front lines

Target, and all businesses, can leverage the support of LGBTQ+ organizations to navigate this hate, so that together, we can let extremists know unequivocally that, just as with every other failed anti-LGBTQ+ campaign of the past, fear will not win.

The following organizations have signed on to the statement:

A Better Balance

AAPI Victory Alliance

Acadiana Queer Collective

Accountable For Equality

Ace and Aro Alliance of Central Ohio

AID Upstate

Alaskans Together for Equality

All Under One Roof LGBT Advocates of Southeastern Idaho

Alliance For Full Acceptance

Amaryllis Counseling

American Atheists

Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization

Bans Off Miami

Basic Rights Oregon

Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice

Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC)

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Center

Brooklyn Community Pride Center

Capital Pride Alliance

Capitol Area Reentry program Inc

Carolinas CARE Partnership

CASA

CASA in Action

Center for Psychological Growth

Center on Halsted

CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers

Central Valley Pride

Centre LGBT+

City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission

Colors+

Compass LGBTQ Community Center

Corazón Latino

Dakota OutRight

Delmarva Pride Center

Diverse & Resilient

Diversity Center of Oklahoma Inc.

Eastern PA Trans Equity Project

Emerald Coast Equality

Equality California

Equality Community Center

Equality Delaware

Equality Federation

Equality Illinois

Equality Michigan

Equality NC

Equality New Mexico

Equality New York

Equality Virginia

EqualityMaine

Equitas Health

Fairness Campaign

Fairness West Virginia

FL National Organization for Women

Florida Freedom to Read Project

Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus

Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center

FREE MOM HUGS

Freedom Oklahoma

Freedom Virginia

FreeState Justice

Garden State Equality

Gender Justice

Georgia Equality

GMHC

Grand Forks OUT and Proud

Grand Strand PRIDE

Great Lakes Bay Pride

Greater Orlando NOW

Hamkae Center

Henderson Equality Center

HIGH IMPACTO

Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus

HOPE CommUnity Center

Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus

Hudson Pride Center

Hugh Lane Foundation

I Am Human Foundation

inclusion tennessee

Indiana Youth Group (IYG)

Inside Out Youth Services

Institute for LGBT Health and Wellbeing

Interfaith Alliance

Interfaith Alliance of Iowa

InterPride

Japanese American Citizens League

Kaleidoscope Youth Center

Lavender Rights Project

Lexington Pride Center

LGBT Center of Raleigh

LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin

LGBT Community Network

LGBT Detroit

LGBT+ Family & Games

LGBTQ Center OC

LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast

LGBTQ+ Center of Southern Nevada

Live Out Loud

Los Angeles LGBT Center

Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom

Louisiana Trans Advocates

Make the Road Nevada

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Matthew Shepard Foundation

Milwaukee LGBT Community Center

MoCo Pride Center

Montana Human Rights Network

Muncie OUTreach LGBTQ+ Center

NAKASEC Action Fund

National Association of Social Workers

National Center for Transgender Equality

National Education Association

National Employment Law Project

National Women's Law Center

NCR LGBTQ+ Dems

NEW Pride Agenda

NMAC

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

North Las Vegas Equality Center

North San Diego County LGBTQ Resource Center

NYC Pride

Oklahoma Progress Now

One Colorado

One In Long Beach, Inc.

One Iowa

one-n-ten

Our Spot KC

OUTMemphis

OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center

Outright Vermont

Page and Post

PFLAG Greenville SC

Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Plexus LGBTQ & Allied Chamber of Commerce

Point of Pride

Pride at Work - Rochester Finger Lakes Chapter

Pride Center of Staten Island

Pride Community Center, Inc

Pride Foundation

Prism Counseling & Community Services

PRISM FL, Inc

Project Pride SRQ

PROMO Missouri

Queer Northshore

Queermunity Collaborative

QUEERSPACE collective

Qweerty Gamers

Rainbow Democrats

Rainbow Rose Center

Real Mama Bears

REPRO Rising Virginia

Resource Center

Rockland County Pride Center

Sacramento LGBT Community Center

Saint Louis Black Pride

SC Black Pride Inc.

Seacoast Outright

Shoals Diversity Center

Silver State Equality

SOJOURN: Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity

Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation

SPEKTRUM Health

Spencer Pride, Inc.

St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline

St. Tammany Library Alliance

Stand with Trans

Stonewall Alliance Of Chico

Stonewall Columbus

Sunny Mullarkey Studio

Tennessee Equality Project

The Atlanta Pride Committee

The Center: 7 Rivers LGBTQ Connection

The Freedom Center for Social Justice

The LGBT Center

The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland

The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center

the Montrose Center

The Normal Anomaly Initiative, Inc

The Personal Stories Project

The Pride Center at Equality Park

The Sacred Cloth Project

The Spahr Center

Transcend the Binary

TransFamily Support Services

Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund

Transgender Michigan

Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico

Transgender Resource Education and Enrichment Services-TREES Inc.

Transinclusive Group

TransOhio

Truth Wins Out

UltraViolet

UndocuBlack Network

Uplift Outreach Center

Upstate SC LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce

Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance (UGLA)

Us Giving Richmond Connections

Waves Ahead Corp

We Are Family

Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Women's Emergency Network

Women's March

Woodhull Freedom Foundation

YouthSeen

Zebra Youth

603 Equality

864Pride

864pride


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