I have spent the last decade fighting for economic and racial justice in New York communities. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with New Yorkers facing eviction, food insecurity, and impossible choices between covering their medical bills and paying the rent. That is what led me to launch the Crisis Action Center: to give our community a voice and to connect people with resources that can help meet their needs.
In recent years, advocates like me had reason to think big-box retailers like Walmart and Target were on our side. Because the stores embraced diversity and inclusion initiatives, we thought they cared about giving our communities a voice. Walmart had a non-profit focused on advancing racial justice. Target had a supplier diversity program that uplifted minority suppliers. They issued press releases and promised to stand with our communities.
That was until Donald Trump returned to the White House.
When President Trump called for an end to diversity initiatives, the retailers caved. Walmart announced it would stop funding its racial justice non-profit. Target renamed its supplier diversity program. Other retailers also bowed to the pressure. Home Depot, for example, decided to drop mentions of diversity in its annual report to shareholders. One by one, these corporate giants folded under pressure from Right-wing activists. They made clear that their support was never about principle, but about political expediency.
Faced with these betrayals, our communities did not stay silent. In New York, organizations like the People’s Union USA led consumer boycotts, demanding that these corporations stick to their commitments. These boycotts are still ongoing.
Unfortunately, backtracking on diversity is not the first time big box retailers have betrayed our communities. They have taken anti-worker and anti-consumer stances for years, and our leaders should do more to hold them accountable.
At the Crisis Action Center, we hear from people every day who are trying their best to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Yet their paychecks don’t go as far as they used to, in part because these companies are playing games with prices.
When the COVID pandemic caused supply chain disruptions, many believe big grocers saw it as an opportunity to manipulate prices to pad their bottom lines. A report by the Federal Trade Commission found that retailers exploited the crisis “to come out ahead at the expense of their competitors and the communities they serve.” Among the grocers the FTC looked at, revenues increased more than 6% over costs in 2021.
In 2025, many experts, including more than a dozen members of Congress, believe the stores may be at it again.
With Trump’s tariff policy wreaking havoc on the economy, members of Congress have warned that the retailers could be gearing up to unfairly raise prices on consumers once again. Even before final tariffs have been locked, Target and Walmart have announced that they will raise prices. Home Depot has also announced that some items may be taken off the shelves entirely.
Whether it is COVID or tariffs, it is wrong for stores to use the cover of national events to unjustly manipulate prices. More leaders should demand transparency from these stores. They need to push the retailers to justify if price increases are truly a result of tariffs or simply or a grab for more profits.
At the community level, shoppers are holding the stores accountable for betraying values like diversity and inclusion. In the halls of Congress and other government bodies, it is time for more elected leaders to do the same and force these stores to answer for putting their profits before people.
*Rev. Kevin McCall is a longtime community leader in New York State and former National Crisis Director for the National Action Network.
