A growing backlash against national retailers that have started eliminating or rolling back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs now includes Latino leaders calling for a boycott of those big stores.
The movement, known as the Latino Freeze, includes activists like civil rights leader Dolores Huerta heading the charge.
"If you don't respect our community, then you shouldn't have our dollars," Huerta said.
The idea of the Latino Freeze movement is growing and calls for Latinos to stop shopping at big stores and restaurants like Target, Walmart, McDonald's and other places that recently rolled back their DEI programs. The move followed similar action by the White House and federal government.
Comedian John Leguizamo is also on board and is pushing for a national freeze on all shopping with an "economic blackout" on Feb. 28.
"The call to action for the Latino Freeze is targeting specific brands," said Dr. Caroline Chen, a business professor at San Jose State University.
Chen said that Latinos make up $3.5 trillion in buying power, meaning the Latino Freeze movement is not an idle threat. But she also notes a successful boycott would need a prolonged one lasting longer than a month.
"If it was two months, three months, then you'd make significant inroads to hurting those particular companies economically," Chen said.
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NBC Bay Area reached out to Target for comment on the boycott, but did not hear back on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Huerta said the time to act is now.
"The least we can do is send a message to Donald Trump backers: 'You don't want to support our community then our community is not going to support you,'" Huerta said.
