Blackout for Human Rights is calling on people to boycott Black Friday.
This year’s #BlackoutBlackFriday campaign will be the fifth one, according to a press release sent to Blavity. Supporters are encouraged to avoid shopping at major retailers on Friday “to protest social and economic injustice in the U.S., and instead engage in cultural activism.”
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler founded Blackout for Human Rights. The collective has a slew of famous members including Donald Glover, Michael B. Jordan, Ava DuVernay and Jesse Williams.
“Our lives are joined by the money we spend as consumers," a manifesto on the collective's website reads. "Today, more than ever, the levers of power — civic, corporate, industrial, capital — are tied to one another and to our economy.”
The group hopes to subvert current power paradigms through an embrace of the arts. Past events have benefited causes like the Flint water crisis; the group's Black Friday boycott will have a film event as its artistic centerpiece.
Terrance Nance, the mastermind behind HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness will host this event, a film screening and discussion in New York City. Those who live elsewhere in the U.S. are encouraged to show their support for those whose work makes the current system of capitalism possible by abstaining from shopping.
“The U.S. economy depends on our shopping, especially during the holiday season," the collective wrote. "But the lives of our brothers and sisters are worth more than the dollars we can save on holiday gifts. Together, we can make a historic stand against racism and spark change."
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