"This is our time": Economic blackout targets retailers rolling back DEI

Economic boycotts have long been a tool of resistance. At the turn of the 19th century, the English boycotted sugar produced by enslaved people, dropping demand and opening the market for Indian sugar. Rosa Parks’ defiance of a bus driver’s order to move to the back sparked the 1955 Montgomery 13-month bus boycott, which slashed income from fares and led to the Supreme Court decision that segregation on buses is unconstitutional. And recently, Target’s repeal of diversity and inclusion efforts contributed to its sinking stock price as indignant customers took their business elsewhere.

In a time of extreme division and an urgent fight to advance and maintain civil rights while the current presidential administration is bent on destroying them, the calls for justice ring louder than ever in recent history.

A New Yorker transplanted to the Midwest, John Schwarz, originated the People’s Union Economic Blackout set for Friday that aims to unite consumers, reminding them — and the corporate retailers and services they patronize — of the might of a single dollar that in aggregate can create powerful change.

“If people are ever going to have an opportunity to voice their opinion, to make changes to get the government and the major corporations to start contributing a little more to alleviate their stress on the American families, this is our time,” Schwarz said.

The goal of the one-day blackout, which has gone viral since its announcement in early February, is to see folks across the country spend no money at corporate retailers such as Target, Amazon and Walmart that have rolled back DEI initiatives. The action includes skipping fast food restaurants, avoiding gas stations and putting away the credit cards, except for at small businesses and independent community establishments.

“We can organize beyond everything that divides us — politics, religion, race, gender, labels. We have to find that common ground,” Schwarz said. He insists that most everyone can relate to feeling the burden of inflation and feeling powerless against corporations that pay few, if any, federal taxes.

Nikki Porcher, founder of Buy From a Black Woman, a business-support organization, favors the idea of financial resistance on Friday and advocates for a multipronged long-term strategy. She says the strike will only be effective with mass participation, media coverage and sustained behavior change going forward.

“If people return to their usual spending patterns the next day, the momentum can be lost. Additionally, without clear demands or follow-up actions, corporations may not feel compelled to change,” she said.

And even though Schwarz insists the blackout on Friday isn’t political, it’s impossible to ignore the statement it makes about the rapid rollbacks in DEI initiatives taken by corporations, universities and other institutions that fear blowback from the Trump administration.

“The strike raises awareness about economic disparities and corporate accountability, encouraging people to be more intentional with their dollars. It also sends a clear message that marginalized communities hold financial power and will not support businesses that harm them,” Porcher said.

Schwarz says he’s looking ahead with actions planned through July and has no illusions about the dent just one day of not shopping will make for a huge company — especially if people resume their regular habits the following day.

“They may have a little bit of a slower week, but the thing that will happen is those people sitting up in that big boardroom who don't really care about anybody, who see us all with just dollar bills and consumers, they're going to be the ones who turn around and go, ‘Wait, what just happened?’ And that's the whole point.”

For lower-wage workers who may see a slowdown, Schwarz says he has encouraged them to take a sick day or paid time off if they can do so without endangering their job. They, too, can benefit from economic justice that lowers their disproportionate state and local tax burden and lessens the giant chasm between worker and CEO salaries.

Schwarz echoes billionaire investor Warren Buffett in his call for corporations to pay more in taxes, shifting the burden from individuals. If 800 companies paid the taxes his firm Berkshire Hathaway pays, Buffett said, “No other person in the United States would have had to pay a dime of federal taxes — no income taxes, no social security taxes, no estate taxes.”

“I want this to shake their wallets so bad that they turn around and go to the federal government and say, 'Listen, listen, we'll pay our fair share in taxes,'” Schwarz said.

Legitimate businesses need to make money, he acknowledges, “but they don't need to rob American citizens who aren't getting pay raises to compensate for this fictitious unicorn named inflation.”

But costs are generally passed on in the price of goods and services, and a prolonged boycott and taxation could potentially hurt consumers and workers unless there’s solid policy in place to protect against soaring inflation and price gouging. The free market and customer choice can also play a greater role in deciding the Wall Street winners and losers when more people channel their money into meaningful action.

“I think finally, now, with the access of the internet and people being able to communicate better and share their lives, people are realizing we're all tired, we're all exhausted, and the cause of the problem is all coming from the same place, no matter who we are or what we look like or what we wear or who we vote or pray for,” Schwarz said.