#HandsUpDontSpend: African Americans call to boycott Black Friday over Ferguson decision

[Jefferson23]

Activists plan to protest grand jury decision with economic boycott on major US shopping weekend.

Black consumers plan to protest with their wallets over what they say is a failure of justice in Ferguson, Missouri. On Monday, a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson on any charges in the August 9 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

The Justice for Michael Brown Leadership Coalition is calling for a national boycott of Black Friday, a major US shopping holiday that follows Thanksgiving, and throughout the weekend. Organiser Dacia Polk told St. Louis radio, "Until this nation begins to place value on black lives, there will be no value placed on this business because black lives matter.”

Boycott advocates hope they can harness African Americans' collective purchasing power, an estimated one trillion dollars. Organisers also plan to walk through malls in silent protest.

Boycott supporters tweeted using #BoycottBlackFriday , #BrownFriday , and #HandsUpDontSpend , a reference to the "hands up don't shoot" chant from many Ferguson protests.

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201411251817-0024376

[Bluzmann57]

1. I'm in

But then I NEVER go out on the Friday after Thanksgiving anyway. Usually I sit and drink beer and watch football.

[Jefferson23]

2. Maybe you can tweet it and facebook the message to friends and such? n/t

[Kalidurga]

3. It should be an everyday thing

for anyone who is not in the 1%. The only way we are going to be free from the corporatists shackles is if we starve them out. By local, reduce, reuse, don't buy.

[Jefferson23]

4. Yes..thanks. n/t

[cprise]

5. I second that. Consumerism converts citizens into mere consumers

without rights and due process. It elevates the 1% to no-risk, too big to fail status while they make the rest of us fight each other.

I'll buy food for the holidays and that's about it.

[bemildred]

7. +1. nt

[bemildred]

9. I remember very well when Raygun came to office, that was when I first noticed that

our beloved MSM had started calling us consumers and not citizens anymore. They don't like calling us citizens, citizens have power, citizens have rights. It was like they flipped a switch.

[Iamthetruth]

15. How many millions

Of retail jobs do you suppose that will cost? Maybe it's me but I don't think many of those in retail that would now be unemployed under your plan are in the 1%.

[magical thyme]

6. I never shop on "black friday." not online either.

But I do hope tens or even hundreds of millions will join me on my annual boycott.

[Jefferson23]

8. Me too, we need to..I feel. n/t

[TBF]

10. Solidarity -

I have no problem with the boycott and will adhere to that. I won't cross a picket line and this will be a virtual one, but a picket line nonetheless.

[ellenrr]

11. I think this is a stupid idea. There are not enough people who will boycott to make a difference.

There are the people like me, who joined the protests,
and who would not shop on Black Friday if you paid me...

I'm betting that the majority of people who joined protests are not the same people who go out and spend $10,000 on Black Friday.

so yeah, those of you who would not shop on Black Friday anyway, will stay home this Black Friday to support those who protested.
whoopee

[ellenrr]

12. I'll be at Walmart's

protesting.

find one near you.

http://blackfridayprotests.org/

--- of course you'd have to leave your easy chair...

[olddots]

13. count me in

We should start producing instead of consuming like parasites .

[maced666]

14. 100 in lines here...mostly African American

In my shopping complex/neighborhood. Drove by they are in lines at 3 different stores omg so many people! Not a black Friday shopper but this is Thursday!

[Jefferson23]

16. Protesters target Black Friday sales in Ferguson

11/28/2014

(Reuters) - Protesters in Ferguson, Missouri began targeting Black Friday sales at major retailers overnight in a new tactic to vent their anger at a grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teen.

Kicking off their latest strategy inside a Walmart in another nearby suburb of St. Louis, about 75 demonstrators protested peacefully, chanting "Hands up, don't shoot!", bemusing bargain-hunters pushing their brimming shopping carts.

They dispersed peacefully when ordered by a small group of police, moving on to a Target store where they staged a similar demonstration. More protests were planned for Friday.

Ferguson became a flashpoint for often troubled U.S. race relations after officer Darren Wilson shot dead Michael Brown on Aug. 9. The U.S. Justice Department is probing possible civil rights abuses, and President Barack Obama has called for reflection on the difficulties minorities face in the country.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/28/us-usa-missouri-shooting-blackfridaysale-idUSKCN0JC0CY20141128