Target's rollback on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is raising questions about the retail giant's philanthropic commitment to fighting racial disparities and promoting progressive values in liberal Minneapolis,

Target is not welcome at the Twin Cities Pride Festival this year despite being a longtime sponsor, organizers say, because the company recently ended some of its DEI programs.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is No. 7 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, with nearly 2,000 locations. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, while Costco is No. 3. PG also included all three companies on its Retailers of the Century list.

Twin Cities Pride, a Minnesota-based LGBTQ+ organization, is excluding Target from its annual parade after the retailer rolled back its DEI programs. NBC News’ Joe Fryer spoke with Twin Cities Pride executive director Andi Otto about the decision to kick out the long-time sponsor.

Twin Cities Pride raised more than $50,000 to fill a gap in fundraising after booting Target from the list of festival sponsors. The Minneapolis retailer sparked an outcry from the public following an announcement that they would retreat from their diversity goals amid pressure from conservative activists.

Executive Director Andi Otto called the company’s decision to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming “the breaking point.”

Twin Cities Pride won’t be hurting for funds this year, despite telling corporate partner Target they were not welcome in any festival activities this year.

Twin Cities Pride decided to cut ties with Target as a sponsor, which meant losing $50,000 of funding for the year.

Twin Cities Pride executive director Andi Otto says the nonprofit made the decision because Target is not standing up “against those who are fighting against us.”