A Century of Economic Boycotts – The Carolinian Newspaper

By: Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

Throughout the last century, Black Americans have made their voices heard not only through marches, speeches, and sit-ins, but also through a lesser-remembered yet equally powerful form of protest: the economic boycott. 

These boycotts were not merely refusals to spend; they were declarations of self-worth. Black communities organizing economic resistance—refusing to support businesses that refused to hire, respect, or serve them with fairness—was vital to Black resistance.

During the Great Depression, economic desperation was felt across America, but for Black communities, it was compounded by racial discrimination that kept them jobless even as they spent their limited dollars in white-owned stores. 

In cities like Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, Black activists launched the “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work”campaigns. These protests pushed the message that businesses profiting from Black dollars must reciprocate by hiring Black workers.

Activists picketed with signs stating the obvious yet radical demand: “Do Not Buy Where You Will Not Be Hired.” 

Black consumers were encouraged, sometimes pressured, to shop only where their economic power was respected. Despite legal injunctions and police interference, these boycotts yielded real gains—hundreds, even thousands, of jobs for Black workers in cities that had long shut them out of economic opportunity.

In 1968, the civil rights strategy of economic protest took a powerful local form in Durham, North Carolina, when the Black Solidarity Committee for Community Improvement launched a boycott against the city’s white business establishment. It began with a bold gesture: organizing a second Christmas parade, not on Main Street, but on Fayetteville Street, symbolizing a parallel economic and cultural world built by Black Durham.

The committee, representing a coalition of unions, fraternities and sororities, neighborhood councils, business organizations, and religious leaders, delivered a comprehensive list of grievances and demands to the local Chamber of Commerce and Durham Merchants Association. Before negotiations could begin in earnest, the committee launched a boycott of Northgate Shopping Center, expanding over time to include nearly 30 businesses.

The heart of the campaign was about justice in welfare, housing, employment, and Black representation in decision-making bodies. The movement reached a crescendo during the “Black Christmas” of 1968, when Black Durham collectively withdrew their holiday spending from white-owned downtown businesses. 

It worked. By February 1969, negotiations led to the formation of six joint committees to address the issues at hand. The boycott ended, but its legacy remained.

Photographs and documents from the early 1960s—like those found in attorney Floyd McKissick’s papers—show everyday people standing in front of businesses with quiet signs and loud messages: “Do Not Buy Where You Will Not Be Hired.” 

These weren’t mass marches; they were small, determined acts of resistance. Outside an A&P Supermarket in Durham, for example, Black protesters picketed to alert fellow shoppers that the store refused to hire Black workers. These actions rarely made national headlines, but they were part of a disciplined strategy for community change.

Fast forward to 2025, and the strategy has reemerged.

When Target, once a vocal supporter of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), began to scale back its DEI initiatives, many Black consumers saw it as a betrayal. The company had pledged $2 billion to support Black-owned businesses after the murder of George Floyd. But under mounting political pressure, the company reversed course—and Black communities took notice.

Dr. Jamal Bryant, a prominent Atlanta pastor, called for a boycott of Target, which soon gained national traction. The results were immediate and measurable: sales plummeted and income dropped by 21%. News of the CEO’s resignation came on August 20th, less than seven months after the boycotts began. In contrast, companies like Costco, which stood firm on their DEI commitments, saw increased customer loyalty and rising sales.

From the Depression-era picket lines to Black Christmas in Durham to the aisles of Target stores in 2025, the message is the same: Black dollars matter. Boycotts—especially when focused, organized, and sustained—have created jobs, forced negotiations, and brought billion-dollar corporate giants to their knees.