Students and athletes, with the support of faculty, at the University of Missouri were successful in forcing the president to step down. With all of the injustice that we have seen and countless protests organized to push back against oppression, the one thing that they were missing that Mizzou protesters had was a direct effect on big money.
Student protests over poor response by administration to racial tension on campus were elevated to another level when an African-American graduate student, Jonathan Butler, started a hunger strike on November 2nd, 2015. The critical step that led to student demands being met were when 32 members of the Mizzou football team announced on November 7th that they refused to participate in practices or games until demands were met. With a game against BYU just days away, the university would have been required to pay a game cancellation fee of $1 million. Millions were at stake, when you factor in ticket sales, concessions, and ad revenue on the SEC Network.
Countless leaders for decades have talked about this form of protest, but somehow as a community we have failed to use our power on a consistent basis. We could have learned lessons from the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We could have listened to Dr. King when he called for us to “redistribute the pain” by redirecting our money to black business, black banks and black insurance companies in his final speech. In years since, others like Dr. George Fraser, Jim Clingman, Dr. Boyce Watkins and Dr. Claud Anderson with “Powernomics” have all talked about the power that we yield as African-Americans to solve our own problems.
Those of us that have been screaming at the top of our lungs that voting and marching alone will not bring about sustainable change have hope today. We have hope in knowing that the masses of people of color in this nation realize the power that we have right now to change our community. In order for things to change, the missing link is economic empowerment. We must not only boycott, but also build by supporting each other’s businesses and by circulating at least a portion of the $250 billion dollars spent by African-Americans every week within our community.
The Blackout Coalition started an ongoing economic protest in 2014 that 10’s of thousands have been participating in each and every Friday. Click the button below to learn more.
Look for upcoming economic empowerment events in your city or state.
