Sacramento Stands Strong: A Local Perspective on the National Black Friday Boycott

This year's Black Friday was anything but typical. On November 28, Florin Square transformed into a vibrant marketplace featuring over 50 Black-owned businesses, live performances, and soul-food vendors, alongside the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum anchoring the event. This inaugural Black Business Friday coincided with the impactful Mass Blackout, a national initiative urging Black individuals and allies to refrain from supporting large corporations that financially back anti-Black policies. The campaign encourages consumers to shift their spending towards local and Black-owned enterprises that champion diversity and inclusion. Sacramento's Maddison Morian Brodeur expressed her commitment to this movement, urging friends and family to shop locally and pay with cash. The Mass Blackout draws inspiration from historic protests, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Activists, including Faye Wilson Kennedy and Keisha “Agent Kee” Mathews, emphasized the importance of redirecting funds to strengthen local economies while highlighting that community engagement and understanding drive effective boycotts.