DETROIT – A national activist group is calling for a new economic blackout to protest cuts to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
This nationwide blackout began at midnight on Good Friday and will continue through Easter weekend.
Local 4 visited the Fellowship Chapel in Detroit, where faith leaders discussed the issue.
Richard Mack, a labor and civil rights lawyer, and Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, support the boycott.
“We hold the line, economic resistance, economic blackout 2.0 it is on, my friends,” said one man.
The activist group People’s Union USA is urging a national boycott of big-box retailers.
“From Friday through Sunday at midnight, we go dark—no shopping, no spending, no fueling the corporate machine that has been bleeding us dry,” the man said.
Protests against DEI cuts have led to strategic boycotts of Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Starbucks, among others.
When asked about the protestors’ message to the companies involved, Mack said, “Stop disrespecting us and we’ll start spending with you.”
Mack emphasized that DEI initiatives are often mischaracterized.
“DEI is not reducing the level of qualification for people who wouldn’t otherwise make it in; it’s expanding the pool, your search engine to find rural and urban areas so that women and people of color who otherwise wouldn’t be selected could have a chance,” Mack said.
Since President Trump’s inauguration, Black faith leaders have urged shoppers to spend their money selectively.
“People have a right to shop with folks that do business with them, that’s the American way,” said Anthony.
The stakes are so high that Anthony took time to speak with us in between church services on Good Friday.
“The NAACP hasn’t called for any economic boycott yet. We believe that people have the right to they’re they’re going to do. We hope that companies will see the futility of this and that they would do the right thing and be inclusive,” Anthony said.
The effectiveness of economic boycotts varies depending on who you ask, but some economists say the impact is difficult to gauge.
But supporters say they are making their voices heard with every dollar they spend or don’t.
