As evidenced by the atrocious footages of Laquan McDonald’s execution, black lives in the United States are devalueed, regarded as subordinate and, in this case, the black body is used for target practice.
On the cusp of the holiday season activists are demanding justice for Laquan McDonald and the many, many unarmed blacks who have been unjustly murdered. Protest is deeply steeped in the tradition of black Americans. And in the United States, a capitalistic society where consumerism supersedes consideration for black existence, an economic boycott is choice.
#BoycottBlackFriday, #BlackFridayBlackout, and #NotOneDime are all campaigns that, through social media and existent protest, seek to cause a decline in Black Friday sales and to “redistribute the pain” (also a hashtag of dissent). The goal: to attain retribution for the unjust killing of blacks through a mighty economic blow.
“We are being shot down innocently, killed innocently and we receive no justice,” says Minister Abdul-Hafeez Muhammad, who is the co-chair of the New York local organizing committee for Justice Or Else. He adds, “This has been the most wicked time of injustice.”
On the heels of the 20-year anniversary of the Million Man March, the Justice Or Else campaign, under the auspices of Minister Louis Farrakhan, plans to launch an economic boycott this holiday season. The Black Friday boycott lasted until Nov. 30.
Now a boycott Christmas campaign will last until Jan. 2. The organization uses #BoycottBlackFriday and #RedistributeThePain to galvanize activists via social media.