February Boycott: Amazon, Walmart, Target, McDonalds, Lowes

[Troy]

[Chevdove]

 

WOW! I want to know more about this!

 

I wonder why Lowes and McDonalds in on this list.

I have my suspicions about Aldi though!

 

 

[Troy]

I'm all for boycotts.  I boycotted Amazon for a years, but ended it because I was alienating too many authors who were making books exclusively available from Amazon. 

 

People who make a lot of money from these companies are not about to Boycott them -- I learned that when trying to get others to Boycott Amazon.

 

The list of companies we should be boycotting should be MUCH longer.  Why these five were selected is not clear to me.  At the top of this list should be Meta, but I guess the organizers are using Meta's properties, Facebook, Instagram, etc to get their message out.  See the problem...

 

@Chevdove McDonald's should be on everyone's because their food is hazardous to our health...  I asked Chat GPT who is organizing the Boycott and this was part of the response;
 

Quote

Civil rights groups, including local Black Lives Matter chapters, have announced a boycott of Target stores across the U.S. beginning on February 1, 2025, in response to the retailer's decision to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These initiatives were aimed at promoting and hiring more women and individuals from protected minority groups. Target also plans to discontinue its goal of sourcing products from businesses owned by people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities.

abcnews.go.com

In contrast, prominent figures like Tabitha Brown, a Black entrepreneur with products featured in major retailers, have urged consumers to continue supporting Black-owned brands within these stores. They argue that boycotting could inadvertently harm the very businesses the community aims to uplift.

youtube.com

 

 

Tabitha Brown's reaction was really just a convoluted way of saying.  "Chile, I'm making too much money from Target to support a boycott and honey y'all really need to continue supporting them 'cause that is how I get paid."

 

I think she misses the larger point.  It is not about her products.  The reason so many more Black women products are in the store is because of DEI efforts, which these companies are discontinuing.  Besides we are only talking about a 28 day boycott?!

 

The reality is Tabitha has nothing to worry about.  Most people are not going to boycott Amazon for 5 minutes let alone 28 days...

 

For what it is worth, I'm going to support the boycott. 

[ProfD]

I'm curious to see if the minority groups that benefitted most from DEI will be boycotting. 

 

I seriously doubt that white women and the alphabet soup community will stop shopping in those places.

[Troy]

@ProfD The answer is, of course, no -- they own these coporations.

 

When was the last successful boycott that benefited Black people?

 

Look, the mere act of calling for a boycott benefits the very business we should be boycotting. Meta will benefit financially as they provide the platform for people to spread the word and debate the issue. "...the masters tools..."

[ProfD]

2 minutes ago, Troy said:

When was the last successful boycott that benefited Black people?

Back in the 1960s.  We got the Civil Rights Act.

2 minutes ago, Troy said:

Look, the mere act of calling for a boycott benefits the very business we should be boycotting. Meta will benefit financially as they provide the platform for people to spread the word and debate the issue. "...the masters tools..."

Exactly.  Like Parker Lewis, the white supremacists can't lose anything.  They just keep making money.

[Troy]

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

Back in the 1960s.  We got the Civil Rights Act.

 

I'm not sure what Boycott resulted in the Civil Rights Act?

 

Calls for b\oycotts clearly generate media attention but little else 

 

I think we'd have to go back more than half a century.  I heard about a boycott of Blumstein's department store in my neighborhood in Harlem to get jobs for Black people. 

 

One impact of this was that when I was a kid, Blumstein's was the first place, I ever saw a Black Santa!  My little sister did not like him, because she was so used to seeing white Santa's. She might have only been 5-years old 

 

I asked ChatGPT for more content. They did not cite a source to take it with a grain of salt:

----

 

The boycott of Blumstein’s Department Store in Harlem was a pivotal civil rights action in the 1930s aimed at securing employment opportunities for Black people in New York City.

Background:

During the early 20th century, Harlem became a cultural and economic hub for African Americans, but businesses in the area, including major department stores, largely refused to hire Black workers—even for positions serving a predominantly Black customer base.

The Boycott:

• In 1934, the Young Negroes’ Cooperative League (YNCL) and the New York branch of the NAACP, led by Adam Clayton Powell Jr., organized a boycott against Blumstein’s Department Store, one of Harlem’s largest retailers.
• The protest was part of a broader “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” movement, which sought to pressure white-owned businesses to employ Black workers.
• Powell and other activists led picket lines, rallies, and consumer boycotts, urging Harlem residents to withhold their spending at Blumstein’s until it agreed to fair hiring practices.

Impact and Success:

• The boycott was highly effective, resulting in Blumstein’s hiring Black workers for the first time.
• The success of this campaign set a precedent for economic activism and became a model for later civil rights boycotts, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the 1950s.
• Powell’s leadership in this movement helped him gain political influence, eventually leading to his election as Harlem’s first Black congressman.

Legacy:

The Blumstein’s boycott demonstrated the economic power of Black consumers and the effectiveness of organized, nonviolent protest in challenging racial discrimination. It also inspired future employment rights movements across the country.

Would you like more details on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. or the broader "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" movement?

 

 

[ProfD]

14 minutes ago, Troy said:

I'm not sure what Boycott resulted in the Civil Rights Act?

The combination of boycotts and marches led to it.

 

From a literal standpoint as related to this thread, the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 was effective.

[Troy]

22 minutes ago, ProfD said:

From a literal standpoint as related to this thread, the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 was effective.

 

Yes it was.  I don't think we can repeat the accomplishment.  As long as a few of us can sit at the front bus and others can aspire to do so, does anyone really care about those who have no hope of even getting on the bus, let alone sitting in the front of it.

[ProfD]

3 hours ago, Troy said:

 

Yes it was.  I don't think we can repeat the accomplishment.  As long as a few of us can sit at the front bus and others can aspire to do so, does anyone really care about those who have no hope of even getting on the bus, let alone sitting in the front of it.

Nope.  The illusion of inclusion has worked well enough to keep people satiated.  The mentality seems to be get in where you fit in or else.

[Chevdove]

On 1/31/2025 at 10:28 AM, Troy said:

The list of companies we should be boycotting should be MUCH longer.  Why these five were selected is not clear to me.  At the top of this list should be Meta, but I guess the organizers are using Meta's properties, Facebook, Instagram, etc to get their message out.  See the problem...

 

Yes, I see the dilemma. 

 

On 1/31/2025 at 10:28 AM, Troy said:

 

 

@Chevdove McDonald's should be on everyone's because their food is hazardous to our health...  I asked Chat GPT who is organizing the Boycott and this was part of the response;

 

Really!? I did not realize that about McDonald's probably because I have become numb to the negative aspect! I am not proud of my ignorance though, and cannot deny the obvious truth about it. Ever since I was young I've heard about the bad food pushed in our communities by McDonald's and other fast food restaurants as well, but soon I ignored it because of the hype later when famous athletes became the face for many of them! 

 

 

[ProfD]

18 hours ago, Chevdove said:

Ever since I was young I've heard about the bad food pushed in our communities by McDonald's and other fast food restaurants as well,

It doesn't stop in fast food places.  Grocery stores are filled with bad food products too. 

 

The amount of high fructose corn syrup and sodium Americans consume leads to all types of health problems. 

 

Food, tobacco and car accidents kill more people than drugs.  Yet, there is no war against it.

[Chevdove]

I was just told yesterday that there is another boycott going on right now.

It runs from April 7 to April 14.

 

Some of the stores supposedly boycotted are Walmart, Target and a few more.  

[ProfD]

I believe these store boycotts will be as effective as a Congressman yelling out during a POTUS address or a Senator giving a 25 hour speech on the senate floor. 

[Pioneer1]

55 minutes ago, ProfD said:

I believe these store boycotts will be as effective as a Congressman yelling out during a POTUS address or a Senator giving a 25 hour speech on the senate floor. 

I'm hip.....

I personally am not boycotting shit unless there's a CLEAR reason why it would be in my best interests to do so.
If we don't like what Trump is doing we need to organize and run a better candidate for 2028 with clear goals and objectives.
Straight up.

It's weak and ineffective and is really a way of trying to avoid doing what needs to be done to change things.


Don't get me wrong, boycotts work when there's a CLEAR leader and a CLEAR objective...like MLK and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
But all that sissy-ass.......

-boycott them and don't shop in their stores or say hello to them when you see them
and....
-turn your back on them when they come in your direction to show them your anger.
and....
-stick your tongue out at them in disgust, they won't like that.
and....
-talk about they mama on social media, THAT'S show 'em!

.....is useless.


Troy must have moved this thread to THIS forum from ANOTHER forum because I don't remember seeing it.
 

[Chevdove]

17 hours ago, ProfD said:

I believe these store boycotts will be as effective as a Congressman yelling out during a POTUS address or a Senator giving a 25 hour speech on the senate floor. 

 

Initially, I was pessimistic but if they continue to have boycotts intermittently then something might happen.

However, it's not being broadcasted very well. 

 

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Don't get me wrong, boycotts work when there's a CLEAR leader and a CLEAR objective...like MLK and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

 

Exactly. Who is the leader? 

But even if there is a leader or some group that is heading this up, I wonder what do they represent.

Are the objectives made clearly understood?

If people disagree with some of the objectives then won't that defeat the boycott eventually?

 

 

[Pioneer1]

Chev

 

Exactly. Who is the leader? 

But even if there is a leader or some group that is heading this up, I wonder what do they represent.

 

Great questions.

Based on what I've observed....
A lot of the times the organizers of these protests are just as racist and closed minded as the people they're protesting against.

 

You go to some of these anti-Capitalism meetings and you have a bunch of White men with beards and sometimes long hair who will argue with you and think they know everything and not respect your opinion.....just like the White Conservative or Capitalist.

 

2 different extremes on the opposite ends of the same racist frequency.

 

 

 

 

Are the objectives made clearly understood?

 

I don't think they are because they aren't being laid out.

 

Apparently the only objective is to restore DEI to certain institutions; which in my opinion doesn't benefit AfroAmericans THAT much anyway.

If I enjoy shopping at Target or getting my coffee from Starbucks, I'm not going to inconvenience myself for some "shot in the dark" useless boycott to show Trump how angry I am when he doesn't even care.
 

[Chevdove]

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

You go to some of these anti-Capitalism meetings and you have a bunch of White men with beards and sometimes long hair who will argue with you and think they know everything and not respect your opinion.....just like the White Conservative or Capitalist.

 

2 different extremes on the opposite ends of the same racist frequency.

 

 

And on that same note--I think there is another boycott, I think April 19 and it's about Elon Musk. 

[Troy]

On 4/12/2025 at 7:30 AM, Pioneer1 said:

Troy must have moved this thread to THIS forum from ANOTHER forum because I don't remember seeing it.

no, I didn’t move this one. I rarely do that. 
 

I recently read something about the boycott being really effective against Target apparently the stock price dropped substantially. I did not have a chance to look into it to understand why they thought the boycott was the reason rather than all the other reasons stock prices have been going down lately, from one thing to another and I subsequently forgot to post it. 
 

On 4/12/2025 at 7:30 AM, Pioneer1 said:

I personally am not boycotting shit unless there's a CLEAR reason why it would be in my best interests to do so.

this is actually a good point that I hadn’t really considered. If the goal is to reinstate DEI initiatives, what had those initiatives accomplished for us in the first place and how are we being hurt as a result now?
 

It’s not like Tabatha Brown’s products, for example, have been pulled from the shelves as a result of the DEI initiatives.

 

How will we know the when boycott will be successful? What specifically does Walmart have to do?

 

The oft cited Montgomery bus boycott’s goal was crystal clear.

[Pioneer1]

Troy

 

I recently read something about the boycott being really effective against Target apparently the stock price dropped substantially. I did not have a chance to look into it to understand why they thought the boycott was the reason rather than all the other reasons stock prices have been going down lately, from one thing to another and I subsequently forgot to post it. 

 

Perhaps it was indeed effective, but I'm still trying to figure out what the objective/demand of Target actually was and more importantly....how does it relate to US as AfroAmericans.

Was it over DEI policies?
 

Nearly all of the Target stores in MY area are staffed by either SOME Black people or HALF of the staff are Black and it's still like that.
No change....yet, atleast.
So I'm not sure what type of impact DEI or the lack there of has had on the hiring process at Target

 

this is actually a good point that I hadn’t really considered. 
 

You gotta admit...
I DO get off a good one every now and then, lol.

If the goal is to reinstate DEI initiatives, what had those initiatives accomplished for us in the first place and how are we being hurt as a result now?

That's what I was just asking regarding the Target example.

 

The oft cited Montgomery bus boycott’s goal was crystal clear.
 

Right.
Clarity and benefits are the 2 essential ingredients of any successful boycott.
Without those, you won't gain much of a following...even among those who stand to benefit the most.

When it came to the Montgomery Bus Boycott....the GRIEVANCES were also more clear and obvious.
Racial discrimination by the bus service was open and obvious to everyone so the objective was easily understood.

With this.....neither is very clear.
 

Like you said, even if your protests are having an effect...how will you know it?

Are they expecting for Target or McDonalds to collapse or go out of business?
Or just for their stock value to drop?

I know quite a few people who used to LOVE them some Starbucks but right now won't buy their coffee at Starbucks and won't even step foot IN one to use the bathroom because of their connections to Israel.

Guess what?
Starbucks is still operating and making money and Israel is still doing it's thing over in the Middle East.
 

I predict that these Walmart/Target/McDonald's boycotts are going to be about as effective at getting the Trump/Musk Administration to change THEIR policies as the (how many years now???) Starbuck's boycott has been in getting Israel to change theirs.

[Troy]

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

Starbucks is still operating and making money and Israel is still doing it's thing over in the Middle East.

 

Actually Starbuck has lost billions of dollars globally and in some markets are losing money. Domestically they are thrashing reworking their product line...

 

2 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

I DO get off a good one every now and then, lol.

 

Yeah, even a broken clock is correct twice a day LOL!

[Pioneer1]

Troy

Did Starbucks actually lose money or have their profits simply not been as huge as they were?
There's a difference.

 

Some corporations.....
If they made $50 billion in PROFIT in 2023 but only $25 billion in PROFIT in 2024, they'll count that profit loss as a 50% drop or $25 billion loss when actually they didn't lose anything.
 

[Troy]

Starbuck is a multi-nation corporation.  They lost money in lost money in the UK, Middle East and other countries -- $11B over all.

 

Unfortunately the way our system works if you fail for show increase in profit year-over-year -- despite making a profit you get hurt in the markets and it makes thing even worse for you long term. 

[ProfD]

3 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Starbucks is still operating and making money...

Right.  I'll believe Starbucks is *losing* money when the Hocus Pocus Frappuccino price drops from $13.90 down to $3.

[Pioneer1]

Maybe individual citizens should adapt the same mentality when it comes to OUR income, especially with regard to taxes....lol.

If I didn't make MORE MONEY this year than I made last year, I should consider it a LOSS.
...talk about motivation!

Perhaps I should only pay taxes on the money I earned OVER the previous year...lol.

[ProfD]

33 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Maybe individual citizens should adapt the same mentality when it comes to OUR income, especially with regard to taxes....lol.

If I didn't make MORE MONEY this year than I made last year, I should consider it a LOSS.
...talk about motivation!

Perhaps I should only pay taxes on the money I earned OVER the previous year...lol.

There is a way to do exactly what you are describing.  Wealthy people have been doing it for forever.

[Pioneer1]

On 4/13/2025 at 2:39 PM, ProfD said:

There is a way to do exactly what you are describing.  Wealthy people have been doing it for forever.

 

So I've heard...

But when it comes to taxes and the IRS...I don't play games.

That little money you get back by "claiming this" and "deducting that" and claiming "exemption for this or that reason" isn't worth it.
Especially if you fuck something up and have to hire a lawyer to straighten it out.

Whenever I'm tempted omit something or add something in hopes of gaining a little more money back in my refund I think of a line from Kurtis Blow's: The Breaks

"And the IRS says they wanna chat (that's the breaks...that's the breaks)
And you can't explain why you claimed ya cat (that's the breaks....that's the breaks)"

.....lol.

 

The juice just ain't worth the squeeze
 

BREAK IT UP ~ BREAK DOWN!