NEW YORK (AP) -- The daughters of one of the cofounders of Target are expressing their alarm and shock at the discounter's recent moves to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack from conservative activists and of last month, the White House.

In letters to the editor published Thursday in The Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times, Anne and Lucy Dayton said their father, Bruce Dayton, along with his four other brothers, expanded the Minneapolis department store into a massive brand that became Target that was built on two principles: a focus on the customer and the well-being of the community.

Bruce Dayton died in 2015 at 97.

"We are alarmed how quickly the business community has given in to the current administration's retaliatory threats," the daughters wrote. "It is not 'illegal' for a company to create a business model based on what it believes to be important ethical and business standards."

They added that, "By cowering, Target and others are undermining the very principles that have made their companies a success."

Target couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

In late January, Target said the changes to its "Belonging at the Bullseye" strategy would include ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it already had planned to end the racial program this year. The company also said that it would conclude the diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, goals it previously set in three-year cycles.

Walmart, McDonald's, Ford, Goldman Sachs, and John Deere are among the well-known consumer brands that reduced or phased out their DEI commitments in recent months.