WHY? To show our disapproval of organizations that are yielding to political pressure to discontinue programs that encourage DIVERSITY, EQUITY and INCLUSION (DEI).
A further explanation of these terms follows.
HOW? On Feb. 28 - By NOT MAKING ANY PURCHASES online or in-person. Included in this initial boycott are big box retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, & McDonald’s and others that are yielding to political pressure and scaling back or eliminating their corporate DEI efforts.
REMEMBER: Because imperfect people develop and implement programs...they can be misused. DEI policies are among these. That said, they also have done and continue to do much good to give people, especially those at the margins of our society, access to skills and services that help them perform better...
Bottom line: Examine each program and fix what's broken.
PREPARE IN ADVANCE: MAKE NECESSARY PURCHASE$ BEFORE OR AFTER FEB. 28
FLYER
Here’s a flyer that outlines why this day has been organized. A friend’s daughter sent it to her.
CURRENT ARTICLES ON THIS ISSUE
February 28 Economic Boycott: What A One-Day Spending Freeze Means For Retailers - yahoo!finance Feb. 18, 2025
DEI HISTORY
Definition: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs—meant to address historical and systemic disparities based on race, gender, age, ability, and sexual orientation in the workplace—became a controversial cornerstone for both the government and private sector in the 21st century. Source: Britannica
Key Points from the above link (go to main article for additional links):
In a 2025 interview with Encyclopædia Britannica Melinda Briana Epler, CEO of Empovia, a workplace training company, and author of How to Be an Ally: Actions You Can Take for a Stronger, Happier Workplace, captured the essence of DEI in a metaphor.
Diversity is bringing people of different identities and backgrounds to the table. Inclusion is encouraging them to speak at the table.…Equity is making sure whether that table is right for everybody and, if not, rebuilding the table so everyone can thrive.
Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, made the argument in a 1987 speech that the U.S. Constitution itself laid the framework for programs that would address a founding government that he described as “defective from the start.”
“We the People.” When the Founding Fathers used this phrase in 1787, they did not have in mind the majority of America’s citizens.…On a matter so basic as the right to vote, for example, Negro slaves were excluded, although they were counted for representational purposes—at three-fifths each. Women did not gain the right to vote for over a hundred and thirty years
MONTGOMERY, AL 1955-56 BUS BOYCOTT
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. The boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and is regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. Four days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white man. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system, and one of the leaders of the boycott, a young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr., emerged as a prominent leader of the American civil rights movement. SOURCE: history.com
BOYCOTT TUNES: "Cha Ching"
In all my posts I include music. Following these next images is a song whose sound effects can be enjoyed by both the boycotters and the boycotted. This second group can play it on Blackout Day whenever they need their daily fix of "Cha Ching":
These first three images depict the people who are trying to get their share of the pie so they can take care of their families.
These next images depict some of those at the top layers who are profiting from their labors:
"Once I built a railroad, I made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower up to the sun
Brick and rivet and lime
Once I built a tower, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?"
As the next article describes, due to political pressure in 1932 this song was almost banned from the Broadway play "Americana." Fortunately, the producers held their ground and it played on. Here's the Playbill from that era:
JUST DESSERTS FOR BLACKOUT DAY
Blackout Cake: I might order one of these sweet treats in advance from our famous local bakery: Reisterer’s. One of many ways they give back to our community is by hosting the monthly meetings of our West Hempstead Historical Society.
"AISLE" be participating...Will you join me?
People on the Margins in Images and Songs
First Century Immigrants - No room at the inn
"Far,
We've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free,
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again,
They're coming to America"
"In 'The Immigrant,' he [Neil Sedaka] speaks out on one of the most controversial issues in all of American history and champions a vision of the country that prizes compassion and diversity." More here...
""The Immigrant" - Neil Sedaka
Harbors open their arms to the young searching foreigner
Come to live in the light of the beacon of liberty
Plains and open skies billboards would advertise
Was it anything like that when you arrived
Dream boats carried the future to the heart of America
People were waiting in line for a place by the river
It was a time when strangers were welcome here
Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
That people could come from everywhere
Now he arrives with his hopes and his heart set on miracles
Come to marry his fortune with a hand full of promises
To find they've closed the door they don't want him anymore
There isn't any more to go around
Turning away he remembers he once heard a legend
That spoke of a mystical magical land called America
There was a time when strangers were welcome here
Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
That people could come from everywhere
There was a time when strangers were welcome here
Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
That people could come from everywhere"
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