Comment: Companies can’t decide when they’ll be good neighbors

By Ben Doko / For The Herald

When I moved to America in search of freedom and opportunity, I believed in the promise that America — at its best — was a place where diversity was not just tolerated, but celebrated. I still believe in that promise 20 years after arriving.

That belief has driven my activism across Washington state, fighting for a future where people of every background and identity are seen, heard, and protected.

It is not just me who believes America’s diversity makes us stronger and should be celebrated. Polls consistently show a strong majority of Americans believe our nation’s mix of races, ethnicities and religions enriches our great country.

For years, our nation’s biggest retailers like Walmart and Target also shared this belief. They improved hiring practices to ensure a diverse workforce, made commitments to supply goods from a wide variety of sources, and aligned themselves with movements for racial justice, immigrant rights and gender equity. These initiatives weren’t just good business; they were meaningful steps toward a more inclusive society.

Then came Donald Trump.

Since Election Day, a troubling pattern has emerged; major retailers have been walking away from their commitments to our communities in response to right-wing pressure regarding so-called DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — initiatives. Target, once held up as a model for inclusive corporate culture, replaced its Supplier Diversity Program, which aimed to increase procurement from minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses. Walmart announced it would no longer fund a non-profit it founded to address racial inequalities. The Home Depot dropped a section on diversity from its annual report to investors.

This kind of corporate backpedaling isn’t just disappointing; it’s dangerous. When companies abandon their DEI programs in the face of right-wing political pressure, they send a clear message to the public; that support for marginalized communities is conditional and easily thrown out when it becomes politically inconvenient.

In recent months, we have seen consumers from coast-to-coast use their pocketbooks to voice disapproval over the retailers’ backtracking. Target has been the subject of boycotts. According to reports, its foot traffic has fallen drastically, with the retailer indicating that sales are unlikely to recover this year. Activists launched a similar boycott for change at Walmart in April and urged shoppers to avoid purchasing products sold under Walmart’s private labels.

Unfortunately, we don’t have to look very far back to find other examples of retailers betraying our communities.

When the covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the retailers hid behind supply chain disruptions to jack up prices on consumers. Yet, prices have stayed high even though supply chains have stabilized. Why? Because big box retailers saw the pandemic as their chance to play pricing games to maximize their profits. A Federal Trade Commission report found that many retail grocery stores saw their revenues increase to more than 6 percent over total costs in 2021 and to seven percent in the first three quarters of 2023.

This summer, we are watching the same playbook unfold again, with Trump’s chaotic tariff threats providing the latest excuse. Even though most tariffs have been paused or withdrawn, Walmart and Target have both announced price hikes. As a result, consumers in Washington will once again face high costs at the cash register.

It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time for our elected officials in Olympia and Washington, D.C. to stop looking the other way while retail giants abandon their values and exploit economic uncertainty to squeeze everyday Americans. Our leaders need to join those of us in the grass-roots who are doing our part to hold the retailers accountable. They need to question the retailers about whether they are using the excuse of tariffs to unjustly profit and to call for more transparency.

When the retailers backtracked on their commitments to diversity, they made a bet that shoppers would not notice. They were wrong. Now, as prices go up, the stores are making a similar wager that lawmakers and regulators will let them get away with unfair price manipulation. Our leaders must send a clear signal that the Big Box stores are not above accountability.

Ben Doko lives in Snohomish County and is a local activist, hoping to make the community work for everyone.