Ferguson Protesters Call for Boycott of Black Friday
In the wake of the grand jury decision not to charge Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, activists are encouraging black consumers to turn to economic activism and boycott the busiest shopping day of the year.
Under the title “No Justice, No Profit,” the boycott aims to capitalize on the purchasing power of the black community, which Al Jazeera points out is about $1 trillion, and prove, in a language businesses will understand—money—that injustice doesn’t come without consequence.
Dacia Polk of the Justice for Michael Brown Leadership Coalition explained the boycott to St. Louis Public Radio, saying:
“There will be no business as usual while those who are supposed to protect and serve us,” she said. “Until this nation begins to place value on black lives, there will be no value placed on this business because black lives matter.”
Of course, activists are not boycotting all businesses—they are encouraging shoppers to spend their money and support local, black-owned businesses in lieu of retail giants.
Zaki Baruti of the coalition says that they’ve demonstrated, they’ve taken part in the political process, but activist are still being ignored.
“They don’t care about our pain so in that spirit we are asking businesses to put political pressure on the political leadership to do the right thing,” he said.
The boycott is making the rounds and gaining traction on social media under hashtags #BoycottBlackFriday, #BlackOutBlackFriday #HandsUpDontSpend, #NotOneDime, and #BrownFriday.
(Heads up: the YouTube video below is chock full of graphic police brutality.)