The Lost Art of the Black Boycott

By AAREG, African American Registry

On June 15^th 1953 the black community of Baton Rouge, Louisiana staged the first municipal boycott of the 20^th century.  I’m using this factual event to ask the African American community why we are not using this strategy in 2018?  I’m not confusing non-violent protest with boycott, I am referencing the difference to not forget one of the essential reasons blacks remain important to white America, money!  The dictionary definition of boycott is: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, a store, an organization, etc.) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions

To end the 1953 boycott, the white power structure of Baton Rouge agreed to a compromise. It stipulated that the two side front seats of buses were to be reserved for whites and the long rear seat was for African Americans. The remaining seats were to be occupied on a first-come-first-served basis. The Black community agreed to the compromise and the boycott ended on June 25, 1953.

An African American man in Baton Rouge during the boycotts.

While the Baton Rouge boycott lasted only two weeks, it set protest standards, and is growing in recognition as a precedent-setting event in the history of the modern American civil rights movement.

More importantly this method of resistance doesn’t work from a deficit model and it is a group effort. The boycott model challenges the oppressor, and the group effort avoids masonic co-dependency.  Globally we rank in the top 15 spending groups in the world.  Nike, Target, T-Mobile, General Motors, Starbucks and others want our money and basically nothing else.

Regarding the white-owned corporations mentioned, a national effort is not needed and maybe there is relevance to keeping future resistances local…

Read full article here

Read more Breaking News here

View more galleries from the ABHM here