So it would appear that today, November 2, African-Americans are supposed to boycott the economy and not spend money. The event even has a rather dubious name – the Black-out – and has the backing of Rev. Al Sharpton and is apparently being led by radio host Warren Ballentine.
Which leads me to my first question: who the heck is Warren Ballentine?
Anyway… Maybe, it’s because I’m white, but I just don’t get it. Though apparently, it’s not just me: the message appears to be garbled and even partially lost among the African American activisits backing the vent, too.
Ostensibly, this boycott is to show that participants are “fed up with racism and injustice,” and the manifesto behind the black-out cites the recent noose sightings, the furor over the Jena 6, and other news headlines that highlight what appears to be a rise in prejudice and hate.
But the NAACP sees it differently:
[NAACP spokesperson Cedric] Loiseau said that the NAACP doesn’t see where local businesses such as Subway are using the profits gained from Howard University students and local residents and putting them back into the community. Loiseau said that the NAACP doesn’t see where local businesses such as Subway are using the profits gained from Howard University students and local residents and putting them back into the community.
“We’re [black people] a very materialistic race,” Loiseau said. “Being that we’re the number one consumers in the United States we should benefit the most.
Okay… benefit from… a boycott? How? And so is this boycott about capitalism, greed, prejudice, crime, or all of the above? Don’t get me wrong, a boycott can be a useful tool. But it seems to me like increasingly, act-ups from the likes of Sharpton and others who claim to have the good of the African-American community in mind are showing signs of being less-than coherent. The Black-Out is the latest example of this. Certainly, Big Business isn’t hanging nooses on trees for people to find, so why go after them if the message is racism? And if materialism is to be avoided, how will delaying one’s purchases for a single day (or simple buying your things a day sooner) affect that? And then there’s another thorny question: what about the growing list of big businesses with African American executives as leaders? Are those businesses part of the boycott, and if so, why?
By the end of today, we will see if this boycott really has an impact, and by this weekend, we should see if the boycott really did stick. But even if it tursn out to be a success, there’s still questions about what the boycott was successful in doing, exactly.