Old-School Activism: Join the Injustice Boycott
The Injustice Boycott is the brainchild of activist/writer Shaun King and is intended to put pressure on municipalities and corporations that either directly or obliquely support racist police brutality. It begins today, the 61st anniversary of the Mongtomery Bus Boycott's launch. At this point, "joining" the boycott is simply signing up for the mailing list, expressing your intention to participate when necessary. Thus far, around 200,000 people have joined.
What I like about it (not that I'm The Arbiter—but I think sharing our thought processes can be helpful):
- Planners began work on it late summer. It's not fly-by-night.
- They're taking it slowly, by focusing on a few targets at a time.
- They've explicitly made demands of the targets, with the understanding that actual boycott behavior will begin in mid-January if the demands aren't met.
- Demands aren't centralized, but are connected with local activists—ie, "you know what your citizens have been asking for; do it."
- King has promised to give targets a clear path out of the boycott.
What worries me a bit about it:
- Shaun King is a bit of a lightning-rod and has been accused mismanaging some of his past charities (he's also a target of Breitbart, but, um, I'm not worried about that).
- I've never joined something like this before, so there's a bit of fear of the unknown.
- What if I'm backing the wrong horse?
The fact that the Injustice Boycott is turned outward (not soliciting money for a particular charity) declaws concern #1. Re #2, well, welcome to 2016. And re #3: Call me Aaron Burr, but I think this is a pretty easy one. I "join" by adding my email address and waiting to be notified about next steps. Presumably, I can quit any time. So, YES I CAN HEDGE. For right now, adding my name to the list of Those Who Intend To Boycott If You Don't Listen seems like a no-brainer.
Will you join?