Posted on 11/25/2016 4:12:33 AM PST by markomalley
Black Lives Matter and other groups plan to block white-owned Chicago stores on Black Friday to bring awareness about police shootings, economic issues and alleged racism.
Local churches, Black Lives Matter and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression will block stores along Michigan Avenue and prevent customers from entering stores for the second year in a row, reports Crain’s Chicago Business.
A big part of the protest is to force on people that it’s important to shop at businesses that aren’t owned by white men, Kimberly Veal, a leader of Black Lives Matter, said. It’s not yet known who owns the businesses that will be targeted as part of this effort.
“One of the cornerstones about why we’re boycotting on Black Friday is to attempt to redirect people to businesses owned by people of color and women, and explain why it’s important to patronize these businesses,” Veal explained.
Last year, protesters blocked shoppers from entering stores on Black Friday to protest the death of Laquan McDonald, a black teen shot 16 times by an officer. Dash cam video revealed the teen ignoring officer commands to stop as he walked away from officers with a knife in his hands.
Police had to help shoppers get into the stores; as one person tried to enter, protesters screamed “Shut it down! Shut it down!”
After last year’s protest, stores’ sales were 25 to 50 percent below their expected projections, according to staff and managers.
A sales associate at Aldo said that her store under-performed by $18,000.
“We were down a lot. We were budgeted to make $37,000 but we only did $19,000 — customers told us they were concerned,”said Sarah Midoun.
One of the protest organizer hopes that this year’s protest will have a larger turnout.
“We’re expecting a bigger turnout this year, though this is not an exact science. The reason we’re looking for a bigger turnout is that Trump is the president-elect and, boy, are people pissed,”Frank Chapman, a field organizer with one of the organizations involved, said.
He added that not only race brings the protesters together. “We’ve been calling everyone who has a grievance: the African-American community, Latino people, the white working class,” Chapman explained. “I’m not going to write the white working class off as racist.”
Remember the movie, Escape from New York?
A similar wall should be erected around Chicago. Give it to the ferals and move on.
Lock em up
BLM is a bunch of vile loathsome racists. Well we knew that already.
White people or for that matter any sensible person should boycott black business owner to make them aware the BLM is a front group for left wing racsits.
Leftist logic stupidity never ceases to amaze me here. Let’s trash our fellow liberals to make a statement to conservatives.
Much better than arraigning a flash mob to loot them. Also makes a safer place for the rest of us to shop. I would still “carry” to be safe.
Yes, people are pissed, but they are pissed at people like you and your hired thug protestors.
They do this at their own peril.
Nothing racist about that.
Funny, BLM went into hibernation during the election run.
Now, they are back.
All lives matter, especially those in their mothers womb.
They can block bullets with their chests, too.
BLOCKING is NOT boycotting. It is oppression.
A neighbor suggested that someone should spread a rumor that the BLM jerks were just there to cut in line to get the best deals before everyone else.
It's wrong because it targets an "innocent bystander" for real, tangible harm.
It's also wrong because it doesn't "raise awareness". It just, understandably, makes people hate you.
This is not a protest, it is criminal intimidation and economic terrorism. Police must put this down in the most severe manner if we are to survive as a nation.
Well, don’t really care what they do in Chicago. If you live there and put up with this crap, then you deserve it.
Come stand between me and something I want to do.
Yes. Blocking people from shopping on Black Friday should endear them to the entire nation.
And the police will probably do nothing to stop them or clear the entrances.
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