Why I Won't Protest
In light of the latest Police Brutality case coverage in the media that took place in Louisiana this week, I'd like to express how utterly disheartened I am to witness such horrific and unjust acts practiced by law enforcement. I've seen too many news broadcasting's with the same chilling headline that shows the victim's family, friends, and supporters all pleading with this country to make a change, only for it to be overshadowed & disregarded by morning. Until it happens again, of course.
I'll also express my opinion that riots and protests don't change much, if anything at all. This is not to say protesting is pointless, as it commonly gives individuals some type of platform to voice their social or political concerns or demands. And any platform is better than none! What I am saying is that history has proven that protesting alone doesn't birth a result of social or political reform. The truth is not many people care about which injustices make you angry - especially the ones that have the authority to change the unsatisfactory circumstances - as long as their livelihoods aren't in jeopardy. Your target won't listen until you put a dent in their wallet by affecting the economy somehow. History has showed this to us time and time again: They won't make a change until we make them listen.
Protesting means to make a strong objection. Boycotting means to refuse to buy, use, or deal with an individual or organization in an expression of protest until changes are made. The way I see it, this continuation of racial profiling and scrutiny will have no end unless we commit to putting action behind our neatly decorated protest signs. Reform won't likely happen until boycotting becomes our way of protesting.
I'll briefly discuss two historically clear examples of the power of boycotting.
First, I'm going to reference the Pre-Civil War era where racism was at its peak and slavery was certainly legal, but the principle of this example still applies.
In 1765, Great Britain put a direct tax on all paper products in order to fund the very costly price of stationing British Troops in America. No legal docs, newspapers, playing cards or anything else made of paper could be purchased unless the colonists paid the tax fee and received a stamp of certification. This was called "The Stamp Act" and it outraged regions all over. In opposition of this act, the First Continental Congress hit Great Britain's economy HARD by boycotting British Goods! They took action by doing things like preventing stamped papers from being unloaded from British ships and promoting manufactured homespun cloth to substitute imported British cloth. It was only about four months after the protest that The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766. This historical boycott not only birthed the reform that the colonists hoped for, but it led to significant events like The Boston Massacre and The Boston Tea Party that influenced the creation of the very famous Declaration of Independence!
Fast forward to 1951! This was a significant year for what would be known as The Civil Rights Movement. Several million blacks had migrated from southern farms to northern cities for greater economic opportunities and relative racial tolerance. This move established some improvements within the black community and its relationship with the North! However, no drastic changes were made in southern racial practices! Deep south counties with black majorities still disfranchised blacks entirely. Many southern cities had enacted less-offensive racial seating practices on buses - but none had desegregated them! It was four days before the Montgomery Bus Boycott began that an African - American seamstress was asked to give up her bus seat to seat a white man on an already full bus. The courageous Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up and was both arrested and fined as a consequence. This boycott entailed African-Americans refusing to ride city buses to protest segregated seating. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for 381 days as the participants vowed not to end it until the city met their demands!
To ensure that the boycott would succeed, black leaders organized carpools, the city's African-American taxi cab drivers charged the same amount as bus fair (ten cents) for black riders while other participants chose to walk to their destinations. Needless to say, the demonstration was a success and integrated seating was enacted. Although integration created significant resistance and even violence, the Montgomery Bus Boycott is considered to be the earliest mass protest on behalf of civil rights in the United States, setting the stage for additional large-scale actions outside of the judicial system to bring forth equal treatment for African - Americans!
These two historical events exemplify the power of true commitment and how greatly we can change the world around us if we're crazy enough to stand up for what we believe in. I've noticed that we're great at being outraged for as long as the topic is "hot" and then we return to our lives; until mass media sends us another reminder, another lifeless body, to re-fire us up... temporarily. The longer we allow this pattern to take place without action the more lives we will lose to institutionalized racism.
I'm not sure how many people today would dedicate 381 days to influencing change. I don't know how many of us can refuse to support certain organizations, businesses, and people in order to get their attention fully - but I do know that there's no better time than the present to find out. I'll be the first to admit that it's easier to upload this post than to actually organize a demonstration that would force my country to honestly address the issue of Police Brutality and finally do something about it. I'm not even sure what type of boycott would catch their attention! But that's where putting our heads together comes in and unifying for the grand goals of equality and justice will ensure reform like it's been proven to do in the past!
It's evident that America has made significant strides. Yes. But it's more evident than ever that we have a long way to go. And it's our responsibility to actively make sure we get there.
