Source: Grace Cary / Getty
Tuesday (Jul.7) marks the arrival of Blackout Day 2020. The economic protest sparked by Calvin Martyr is a call to action urging Black people across the country to not spend their money except with Black-owned businesses only.
Organizers behind the movement want Black people to understand the power in their dollars. On the website dedicated to Blackout Day 2020, the call to action is broken down in this description:
“This movement is an awakening of the national consciousness of black people in America and abroad. We need economic solidarity in America amongst all black people unequivocally. In order to break free from the chains of financial servility, we will organize days, weeks, months, and years if necessary when not one black person in America will spend a dollar outside of our community.”
Organizers also came through with a list of aks that need to be met for companies to earn our Black dollars:
“Our ASK is that we stop being shot down in the streets. Our ASK is that racist legislation be purged from the books, and the cancerous ideology that this country was founded upon be rooted out. Our ASK is that we have equal opportunity to access funding so that we can conduct business and practice group economics amongst ourselves. Our ASK is that we are allowed to build our own communities and industries and be left alone. Our ASK is that you stop murdering our leaders when they attempt to unite us as a people.”
Back in May, T.I. pointed out just how much spending power Black folks have combined with Native Americans, Asian-American, Hispanics, and other people of color while calling for people to participate in the day.
“We need one day of solidarity in America when not one black person in America spends a dollar. This includes Africans, Native Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics…ALL people of color. Together we have 3.9 trillion dollars in economic spending power. That’s $10,684,931,506.80 it’s going to cost per day next time a person of color gets shot!”
Since then, the economic protest picked significant speed, and flyers were popping up across the country, bringing awareness to Blackout Day, which is currently trending No.2 worldwide on Twitter.
Based on the current economic climate with the country hurting financially due to COVID-19, this form of protest should be significant.
If you need help searching for companies, you can check out our list of 11 Black-Owned businesses to support or NewsOne’s extensive list as well. Also, check out this list while you’re at it. Oh, and if you need help, YELP can help you find even more businesses to support.
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Photo: Grace Cary / Getty
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