The Day after Thanksgiving the pro-democracy movement will launch an economic boycott against three major corporations that support the Trump regime. Led by Black Voters Matter, Until Freedom, and Indivisible, “We Ain’t Buying it” is calling on consumers from around the country to boycott Target, Amazon, and Home Depot from Black Friday, Nov. 28, through Cyber Monday, Dec. 1.[1]
According to its website (https://weaintbuyingit.com/), the boycott is “an economic action and solidarity campaign designed to defend democracy and reclaim community power. We’re asking Americans to hit pause on shopping from major corporations that have caved to the administration’s policies.”[2]
I strongly support this and urge everyone to do so as well.
Boycotts are a powerful tool, protected by the First Amendment, for changing public policy and corporate behavior. Throughout U.S. history, people have used their purchasing power, alongside their rights to free speech and assembly, to organize and promote economic boycotts.
One of the most famous boycotts is the Montgomery Bus boycott. In 1955, Montgomery, Alabama, required Black bus riders to sit in the back and give up their seats to white passengers. On December 1st of that year, Rosa Parks, a Black woman and NAACP secretary, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Nearly 90% of Black residents participated in a one-day bus boycott on Dec. 5th. During the next year, Blacks continued to boycott the city buses. More than 80 organizers, including Martin Luther King, Jr. were arrested. In November 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court found that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, forcing Montgomery to end bus segregation. The boycott’s success was a giant step forward in the Civil Rights movement.[3]
Another successful boycott helped California farmworkers obtain better wages and working conditions.[4] And, a global boycott of Nestle’s, resulted in the regulation of its baby formula to protect the health of infants.[5]
Now it’s our turn to change the course of history. The overall goal of the forthcoming boycott is to stop these three giant companies’ support of Trump’s corrupt, autocratic regime.
Specifically, the boycott of Target will focus on its caving to the Trump administration’s biased attacks on DEI hiring policies (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). The boycott will call for Target to reinstate its DEI policies.
The Home Depot boycott will aim to highlight and stop the corporation’s collusion with ICE in the kidnapping of immigrants on their properties.
Likewise, the Amazon boycott will shine a light on its financial support of this administration in return for corporate tax cuts. The boycott will call for ending this corrupt practice.
These boycotts are just the beginning. They will continue and grow until their goals are achieved. And, it is up to us, the American people, to make sure that they do succeed. I urge you to spread the word. Contact everyone you know, and then some. Do whatever you can to get your family, friends and neighbors to participate in these boycotts.
It’s time to actively resist Trump and his corrupt, autocratic regime. Together, We Shall Overcome.
For more information, go to https://weaintbuyingit.com/#about.
Bruce Berlin, J.D.
A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), and his new memoir, From Camden to Kathmandu. He is the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/we-ain-t-buying-it-anti-trump-groups-call-on-economic-boycott-ahead-of-thanksgiving-weekend/ar-AA1QejXs?ocid=BingNewsSerp
[2] https://weaintbuyingit.com/#about
[3] https://www.freedomforum.org/famous-boycotts/
[4] Ibid.
[5] file:///Users/Mac/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-Personal/Desktop/Wattana%20senior%20essay%202016.pdf
Breaking Big Money's Grip on America 