The Economic Blackout: Reclaiming Power Through the Black Dollar

In 2025, the Economic Blackout Tour has become more than a series of organized boycotts, it's a nationwide movement rooted in response to the needs and wants of the Black and Brown communities being disregarded. With specific dates targeting corporations like Amazon, Walmart, Nestlé, McDonald’s, and General Mills, the blackout encourages consumers, especially in Black and Brown communities, to stop splurging and start spending smartly.

But the message is bigger than skipping Amazon for a week or passing on fast food. It’s a call to permanently shift awareness to the way we spend, who we financially empower, and how we reclaim what’s been historically denied. This movement is not just a protest of corporations, it’s a shift in the system for those that have been denied, to empower themselves.

The Legacy of the Homestead Act: the Foundation of Economic Injustice

To understand why the Economic Blackout matters, we need to go back to 1862 and the Homestead Act. This federal law granted 160 acres of free land to American citizens willing to farm and settle the West. Most of those that benefited were white, which is how generational wealth was built, off that given land. Black Americans, just emerging from slavery, were technically eligible after 1866, but racism, violence, and systemic barriers shut most of them out. Indigenous land was stolen and redistributed, widening the gap in inequality. 

That land, and the wealth it created. It set the foundation for the massive racial wealth gap we see today. White families passed down homes, property, and businesses. Meanwhile, Black and Brown communities were locked out of that opportunity, forced to start from behind the starting point, with little to no help from the country they helped build.

Today, those economic injustices continue in different forms: underpaid labor, housing discrimination, lack of access to capital, and the extraction of trillions in spending power from minority communities with no reinvestment in return.

Why the Blackout Matters

The Economic Blackout Tour is a direct response to this legacy, and the impact it is making in our lives today. It’s a form of economic resistance; because when the system won’t protect the community, the community must learn to protect itself, and its resources.

This movement aims to:

• Withhold dollars from corporations that exploit labor, ignore the needs of the urban community, and/or fund harmful policies.

  
  

• Raise awareness of economic inequality and empower all people to think critically about where their money goes.

  
  

• Redirect wealth into Black and Brown owned businesses, platforms, and public figures that support justice, equity, and generational growth.

  
  

Selective Shopping Is Not Enough

Some argue that simply supporting minority-owned businesses is enough. They propose walking into Target, and only buying the products from the black companies allowed to be on their shelves. Although reasonable, that approach doesn’t hold crafty corporations accountable. Not to mention it takes the fun out of retail therapy. Selective shopping is individual. Boycotting is collective. And real change requires coordinated disruption. These corporations are well aware of the power of the black dollar, what it means, and what it can do. The goal isn’t just to inflict consequences for their biased boardroom decisions, but to shift the system itself.

We can’t “shop our way” to freedom if the majority of our dollars are still going to companies that undervalue, underpay, and underrepresent us.

The Power of Permanent Habit Change

The true strength of the Economic Blackout isn’t in one day or one week. It’s in creating long-term economic discipline. Permanently changing your buying habits can:

• Empower minority entrepreneurs, helping them scale, hire, and reinvest in your own community.

• Strengthen ecosystems that prioritize community wealth, not corporate greed.

• Uplift public figures and creators who are building culture, platforms, and movements that reflect us.

• Break generational cycles of economic dependence and rebuild economic autonomy.

Where we spend determines who has power. When we redirect those dollars to the communities we live in, we don’t just consume, we begin to invest in our generational wealth.

How to Join the Movement

From now until the end of the year, and beyond, everyone can participate:

• Follow the Boycott Schedule: With Walmart, Amazon, Target, Nestle, General Mills, McDonald’s, just to name a few, choose not to spend on the listed dates. For particulars check The People’s Union USA. (https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplesunionusa?igsh=MW5kbGgzdGptbzlneQ==)

• Audit your spending: Who are you supporting with your everyday dollars?

• Support intentionally: Use apps and directories to find local, Black-owned, and ethical businesses.

• Spread the word: Educate friends, family, and followers about the blackout and why it matters.

• Make it a lifestyle: Keep the pressure on. Keep the awareness high. Keep the dollars circulating in communities that need them by buying black, brown, and local businesses.

Reclaiming What Was Never Given

The Homestead Act gave land, and opportunity, to white Americans for free. The rest of us have been fighting for scraps ever since. The Economic Blackout is our way of saying: We may not have been given land, but we have something just as powerful, our collective dollar.

When used with intention, that dollar becomes a weapon, a shield, and more importantly, a seed. We’re not asking for handouts. We’re creating our own economy. Our own systems. Our own future.

It’s not just about what we’re boycotting, it’s about the collective future we’re building.

Shakirah Gittens, MBA, is a branding consultant, content creator, and communications strategist with 15+ years of corporate and media experience. Follow her journey at @ms.phoenixstyles.