NON Worldwide, a group of artists connected across the “black diaspora,” is advocating for a new kind of Black Friday. On Friday, July 15, participants will exclusively patronize black-owned business.
The event's Facebook page states, “This is a call to purchase from nowhere else but Black Owned Businesses on this Day.” Why black business? Why even ask.
The description goes on to say, “We show how much Black Lives Matter by supporting Black Lives with our Money. This is an important factor in terms of taking steps towards generational healing and cleansing as well as a redirection of resources.”
Sure, people should be free to give their money to whichever companies they choose. Basing it solely on race, however, seems a little… odd, but hey, it's their perogative. The second part of the statement, however, talks about the "redirection of resource" without giving any more details. What resources will be redirected and where will the resources be redirected?
The only color businesses see is green. When business owners make money, they generally don't care about the race of their patrons. The Black Friday participants need to realize that even though they're choosing to shop at exclusively black-owned businesses, the money isn't going to stay in the black community simply because they spent it on businesses owned by black people. Black business owners need to conduct businesses with people of various different races to expand and grow. The money will not be reinvested back into a black utopia solely for black people.
NON Worldwide described the event as a sweeping, extraordinary event, claiming, “It is a powerful act of Justice that will never be forgotten. This is a Historical Worldwide Event,” and saying it is a, “devout act of Social Justice."
For all their dramatic talk, out of the over three thousand people invited, only 659 have responded that they will attend the event as of 12:30 p.m. It like this Black Friday is going to be decidedly in the red.