ICYMI: Friday is National Blackout Day

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

In case you didn’t know, or if you needed a reminder, Friday, February 28 is National Blackout Day. It’s an economic blackout. It’s a boycott. On this day, you are not to spend a single penny in an American store. If you must purchase something that is absolutely necessary, like food or medicine, buy it in cash from a local small business — preferably Black owned. You are to avoid chain stores and corporations like Walmart, McDonald’s, Target, and Amazon like your life depends on it, and in a way, it does. In fact, those aforementioned companies and others that donated to Trump, or rolled back their DEI programs to appease his administration, are to be boycotted from here on out. Here’s a list of those companies — it’s a loooong one —

1.1–800-Flowers
2. Ace Hardware (supported both sides)
3. Act Fluoride Mouthwash
4. Alamo Rental Cars
5. Allegiant Air
6. Anthropology
7. Arby’s
8. Armor All Cleaning Products
9. Ashley Furniture
10. AutoZone
11. Bacardi
12. Bali
13. Cold Stone Creameries
14. Bausch & Lomb
15. Big Heart Pet Brands
16. Bike Athletics
17. Blue Bell Creameries
18. Boost Mobile
19. Brooks Running Shoes
21. Buffalo Wild Wings
22. Buick
23. Cadillac
24. Carl’s Jr.
25. Charmin
26. Chevrolet
27. Chiquita Brands
28. Chobani Yogurts
29. Cincinnati Financial
30. Cinnabon
31. Coors (Any Beer)
32. Conair Hair Products
33. Cuisinart Kitchen Products
34. Dairy Queen
35. Dean Foods
36. Dole Foods
37. Dudley Sports
38. Dunkin’ Donuts
39. Enterprise Rental Car
40. Exxon
41. Farberware
42. Florists (.com)
43. Folgers
44. Free People
45. Fruit Bouquets
46. Fruit of the Loom
47. Fry’s Electronics
48. Garmin
49. Geico Insurance
50. George Foreman Grill
51. GMC
52. GNC
53. Grey Goose
54. Hanes
55. Hardee’s
56. Helzberg Diamonds
57. Hendrick Motorsports
58. Hershey products
59. Hobby Lobby
60. Home Goods
61. Hoover Vacuum Cleaners
62. Horizon Bank
63. Jimmy Dean
64. Keller Williams Realty
65. L.L. Bean
66. Lando Lakes
67. Las Vegas Sands
68. Legs
69. Made in Form
70. Marshalls
71. Martin’s Famous Pastry Shops
72. McDonald’s
73. Meow Mix
74. Miller’s (Any Beer)
75. Milwaukee’s Best (Any Beer)
76. Mobile
77. Molson (Any Beer)
78. Molson’s
79. Motorola
80. My Pillow
81. Napa Auto Parts
82. New Orleans Saints
83. New York Yankees
84. Norwegian Cruise Lines
85. Old Dutch Foods
86. Omni Hotels
87. Oreck Vacuums
88. Papa John’s
89. Pepperonis
90. Playtex
91. Procter & Gamble products
92. Public Storage
93. Public Supermarket
94. Purdue Farms
95. Rayovac
96. Schlotzky’s Restaurant Franchise
97. Shell Oil
98. Sierra Trading Post
99. Slumberland
100. Smucker’s products
101. Soma Intimates
102. Spalding
103. Stanley Black & Decker Hardware
104. Star Furniture
105. Stiletto Power & Hand Tools
106. Sunoco
107. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
108. The Popcorn Factory
109. Tito’s Vodka (could not be verified)
110. Toastmaster Appliances
111. Tractor Supply
112. Turtle Wax
113. Urban Outfitters
114. Vanity Fair
115. Walmart
116. Wendy’s
117. Wonder Bread
118. Wow Cable
119. Wynn Resorts
120. Home Depot

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hearing about this boycott all month. The message was passed around social media to people who are frustrated with the Trump administration and the direction the country is going in. DEI programs do not cause unqualified Black Americans to be hired or to be given business opportunities. Instead, they prevent Black Americans, and other minorities, from being looked over or discriminated against due to inequality, racism, historical racism, bigotry, and bias. Look no further than Trump’s cabinet to see what DEI hires look like, where being white, male, and/or racist got you the nomination, not qualifications. Never forget that Kamala Harris was called a DEI nominee even though she had two decades of political experience, held several offices, and is a lawyer. Trump has no political experience, besides inexplicably being elected president twice, and his Wharton professor, William T. Kelley, repeatedly called him “the dumbest goddam student [he] ever had.” Companies need to know that pretending to be allies to the Black community and other marginalized communities as a “trend” or a “fad” will cost you dollars.

These companies need to understand that it’s the people who hold the power. A consumer-activist group called People’s Union USA called for the boycott. According to Forbes —

A consumer-activist group founded by John Schwarz has launched a grassroots campaign to halt spending online or instore and not use credit or debit cards for 24 hours on Friday, Feb. 28, in an attempt to disrupt the economic order and “take back control of our economy, government and future of our country.”

After the single-day spending pause, People’s Union plans week-long protests against specific retailers, including Amazon Mar. 7–14, Nestlé Mar. 21–28 and Walmart Apr. 7–13.

In an unaffiliated protest, Black faith leaders are calling for a 40-day “fast” or boycott of Target to protest its dialing back DEI initiatives to run during Lent starting on Ash Wednesday, Mar. 5.

“This is not just another protest. This is not just another moment that fades into the background. This is the beginning of something unstoppable. For too long, they have dictated the rules. They have rigged the system. They have lined their pockets while we work harder, we struggle more, and we fight for the bare minimum.

For one day, we remind them who actually runs this economy and when they don’t listen, because they’re going to pretend they don’t hear us, we will go harder, because this is just our warning shot,” People’s Union’s Schwarz said in an Instagram post.

Photo by Liam Edwards on Unsplash

Boycotts have a long history of being used by groups of people to protest unfair treatment, and when successful, they bring real change. Successful boycotts include the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the boycott of apartheid goods from South Africa, the Boston Tea Party and other boycotts that led to the American Revolution, the sugar boycotts in England, and all the boycotts in the Southern United States that led to the end of racial segregation.

Are you ready for tomorrow? Stock up on any goods you might need like food, gas, medicine, baby supplies, pet supplies, and personal needs. Make sure you have cash on hand.

Tell a friend, and tell a friend to tell a friend!

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