In light of the recent shootings of unarmed Black men in the U.S. talk has picked up again about conducting boycotts and moving our support into Black banks and Black-Owned businesses. The community as a whole seems to be split on this idea. Some people feel the whole #BuyBlack and #BankBlack movement is imperative and is necessary to force a change. Others feel it’s a waste of time and the idea of boycotting a major retailer is pointless because that retailer isn’t the real problem. I understand both positions but I fall into the category of the former. I think that us uniting and flexing our buying power muscle will get people to listen. Not saying it is the only thing we need to do but I think establishing a strong financial base and putting our money where our mouth is will open more doors and get more people to pay attention.

One example of an effective boycott is from the early 90’s in Miami, FL. Shortly after Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa, he was due to visit Miami, FL where he would be presented with the key to the city. Prior to that visit he gave an interview in which he acknowledged support for Fidel Castro. A few Cuban American mayors wrote letters criticizing Mandela’s comments and his invitation from the city was ultimately revoked. For several days local Black leaders in the area threatened that they would call for a boycott if the city did not follow through on it’s invitation to Mandela. After the city didn’t budge a boycott was indeed called. Nicknamed “The Quiet Riot” it focused on Black businesses and tourists not bringing their events and business to Miami. After almost three years of boycotting, the Quiet Riot eventually came to an end with a long list of the organizers demands being met including the creation of the Visitor Industry Council to expand African-American participation in the county’s tourism industry, scholarships for black students to attend Florida International University’s hospitality program, and a 1000 room hotel with a majority Black ownership, the first ever in the U.S. Estimates say the boycott cost the city $20-50 million dollars.

Though the reason behind the boycott is different now than in 1990 I think the same goal and same results can be achieved. As a matter of fact I think the results can be even greater now considering we have all types of social media available to us now and the internet. We can make things happen much quicker and have a greater reach than ever before. It’s all about doing it together. Even Raven Symone agrees on this point.

One way to get started is to open up a bank account with a Black-Owned bank. Here’s a list of all of the Black-Owned banks in the country Black-Owned Banks

For more on the Miami Tourism Boycott check out a full article here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article27404362.html

What do you think? What are some of your ideas for bringing about a change?