Every year, corporations expect
us to line up, log on, and lose our minds for
Black Friday. They expect us to stretch our
budgets, drain our accounts, and pretend that
“doorbuster deals” are some kind of patriotic
ritual. But this year, a coalition led by Black
Voters Matter, Indivisible, and Until
Freedom is calling on us to do
something radically simple - and profoundly
powerful.
A spending
freeze from November 28 through December 1.
No Black Friday splurges. No
retail rush. No “Buy Now” pressure.
Why?
Because we
ain’t buying it - literally and figuratively.
Why This Freeze
Matters
Let’s start with the basics: Black
consumers wield more than $1.7 trillion in
annual spending power. Our dollars keep the
retail economy humming. Our purchases shape
markets, trends, strategies, and profits.
Retailers depend on the holiday season to make
their year - and they depend heavily on us.
So, when we withhold our
dollars, even for four days, the impact is
real. Corporations measure every hour, every
transaction, every data point. They know
exactly when consumers shift behavior - and
why. A coordinated dip in spending during the
biggest retail weekend of the year is not a
whisper. It’s a shout.
It’s us saying:
You
don’t get our money while you undermine our
communities.
You
don’t profit off us while cutting DEI.
You
don’t get holiday loyalty while enabling
anti-democratic forces.
If corporations can fund
political agendas that hurt us, roll back
inclusion with a smile, and pretend neutrality
while siding with injustice, then we respond
the only way they understand: with
our wallets closed.
The Coalition
Leading the Charge
Black Voters Matter,
Indivisible, and Until Freedom aren’t doing
this for symbolism. They are doing it to apply
economic
pressure where moral pressure has
failed. This is a coalition of organizers who
understand history, power, and the long game.
They are reminding us that protest isn’t only
marches and petitions - sometimes it’s stillness,
discipline, and withholding.
This coalition is calling out
corporations like Amazon, Target, and Home
Depot - not because they sell products we
don’t want, but because they invest in
politics we can’t accept.
And they’re right to do it.
What This
Freeze Accomplishes
1. It hits corporations in the
only place they truly feel pain: revenue.
Black Friday is their Super
Bowl. When we don’t show up, the scoreboard
changes. A four-day drop in consumer volume is
measurable. It forces executives to pay
attention.
2. It exposes the myth that we
must consume to be good citizens.
We’re tired of being told
patriotic duty looks like over-stuffing
shopping carts. Consumerism is not freedom.
Conscious spending is.
3. It strengthens our internal
discipline and our collective power.
Let’s be honest - many of us
overspend during this season. A freeze creates
space to reassess:
· Do I need this, or am I being
manipulated?
· Can these dollars go to a
Black-owned business instead - after the
freeze?
· Should I put this money toward
savings, debt relief, or mutual aid?
4. It reframes the conversation
around economic justice.
· We’re not freezing spending
because we’re angry shoppers We’re freezing
spending because we’re informed citizens.
· We aren’t punishing
corporations. We’re educating them.
· If you undervalue Black
consumers, if you undermine democracy, if you
retreat from racial equity - then we have a
moral obligation to respond.
Yes, We’re
Angry.
And We Should
Be.
· We’re angry that DEI has been
reduced to a buzzword.
· We’re angry that corporate
leaders fold under political pressure.
· We’re angry that Black
communities still carry the highest costs -
higher inflation, higher rents, higher
interest rates - while being told to
“celebrate savings” on cheap goods made
overseas.
· We’re angry that our political
rights are under attack while corporations
stay silent.
· Anger is not the problem.
· Inaction is.
This freeze
turns anger into strategy.
What Happens
After the Freeze?
· We redirect.
· We reinvest.
· We rebuild.
· We support Black-owned
businesses.
· We put dollars into our
communities.
· We choose purpose over impulse.
· We spend with clarity instead of
conditioning.
The Bottom Line
From November 28 through
December 1, we close our wallets - and open
our eyes. Not because we are powerless, but
because we are powerful. Not because we are
broke, but because we are strategic. Not
because we are done fighting, but because we
are just getting started.
This is what it looks like to flex
our economic muscles.
This is what it sounds like when
we say:
We ain’t buying
it. Not this time.
Join the
spending freeze from November 28 through
December 1.
