The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan also called for a boycott of Christmas. Leading experts and economists agree the time is now and the time is ripe for the Muslim leader’s clarion call for economic justice, they told The Final Call.
“Absolutely, the timing is perfect! I think that Black people in America are reaching another level of consciousness,” said Dr. George Fraser, CEO of FraserNet Inc., which works to increase opportunities, wealth and jobs for Blacks.
The Black Lives Matter movement is pricking the consciousness of Black folks. Black women are even changing their hairstyles to be more natural, and youth—dubbed the Millennials generation—are wearing more dashikis and African garb, Dr. Fraser pointed out as examples of what he sees as a result of an increasing awareness.
He said it reminds him of the 1960s and the Black Power movement, a time when Blacks were really conscious and knew who they were and what they were about.
“From a timing standpoint, from a psychological moment, I think yes, the timing is precisely right. But I think the timing is always right, but it’s up to the elders,” said the marketing guru. The Black community needs leadership and he feels it’s up to people like him, Minister Farrakhan and others who have generations of consciousness to guide the younger generations, he said.
Minister Farrakhan in various cities around the country leading up to October’s gathering said the plan for economic success had been laid out by Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King shortly before he was assassinated. Redistribute the pain Blacks suffer because of injustices in America, particularly the extrajudicial law enforcement and vigilante killings of their men, women and children, he pointed out.
“You’re either going to treat us right, or we’re going to withdraw from you our economic support. … We intend to boycott Christmas but not Jesus,” Minister Farrakhan said during a one-hour interview on September 10 with Roland Martin, host of TV One’s show News One. “We choose not to spend dollars on Black Friday, Black Saturday, Black Sunday, Black Monday. We are not going to spend our money for the rest of that year with those companies that we have traditionally spent our money on,” the Minister added.
Dr. Fraser echoed sentiments that while the whole notion of economic boycott is not a new idea or notion, it must be constantly repeated. “This is what Minister Farrakhan is reigniting, this whole consciousness about the effectiveness of economic boycotts in an unjust system in America,” said Dr. Fraser.
Massive crowd gathers at a “Black Friday” sale. The yearly spectacle nets billions for corporate giants, but many activists are calling for Blacks and others to withhold their spending this year to bring light to injustices suffered in America. Photo: MGN Online.
“Black America is projected to have $1 trillion in earning power in 2015. That $1 trillion in earning power we allow this country to use against us, when in reality, if we harvest that $1 trillion in earning power, in spending power, in budget power, we wouldn’t have to ask anybody for a job,” said Mr. Jackson, echoing Minister Farrakhan.
When the Nation of Islam re-launched Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint to End Poverty and Want during Min. Farrakhan’s Saviours’ Day address in February 2013, he asked Blacks to sacrifice five cents a day, 35 cents a week, to create a fund for Black economic development and job creation. That investment by 16 million Black wage earners would net over $291 million in one year. Minister Farrakhan said investing pennies, nickels and dimes would allow Blacks to secure businesses like a 70,000-acre Texas cattle ranch for just $34 million.
Just six cents of every Black dollar is spent in Black businesses but if that was doubled to 12 cents, it would create nearly 600,000 additional jobs for Black workers and reduce Black employment by three percentage points, Min. Farrakhan noted.
But part of the problem has been America’s used Madison Avenue to trick Blacks into spending with others on bad food, cheap alcohol, and junk, according to Mr. Jackson.
“His (Minister Farrakhan’s) picking the holiday season as a time to exert that pressure is perfect. That’s when America counts our dollars before we spend them,” he said. And as a matter of course, he continued, other communities throughout America already do what Minister Farrakhan’s asking.
“Chinese people shop with Chinese people. Korean people shop with Korean people. Pakistani people shop with Pakistani people. … The people who are not doing what the Minister is asking for is us. We take our dollars and what that means is we take our power and we literally give it away,” said Mr. Jackson.
Posts: 4693 | From: Saturn | Registered: Apr 2012
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Why should Farrakhan choose a Christian festival? This is the problem with Farrakhan I have an issue with. Why choose a festival of a religion you are not involved with? Why not restrict Ramadan celebrations or tell Muslims not to go on the Hajj because Arabs are racist towards black people?
Better still if it is the place the spending is going which is the issue then why not do the Christmas shopping only at stores owned by Black people?
What is even more important as most shopping is done by women, why don't they encourage Black women to setup their own stores and shop at them? If Black owned shops don't thrive isn't it the fault of Black women not spending at them?
This is one of the issues I have with Blacks and their "leaderism", the idea that some great leader must come along and galvanize them, when it is a simple matter of family elders guiding the spending habits of the young and teaching them to maintain it into adulthood.
-------------------- The Habsburg Agenda - Defending Western Christian civilization Posts: 890 | From: London | Registered: Apr 2014
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I'm sure that it wasn't Farrakhan's decision alone. The NOI has many economist, business people and advisors who contributed to the decision. LOL, Farrakhan isn't a dictator. Nor is he an economic advisor.
Those trained economic experts around Farrakhan probably choose Christmas due to economic forecasts because;
1. Christmas is an American holiday, and the largest American holiday
2. Christmas is the biggest shopping holiday of the year
3. The Majority of Americans celebrate Christmas 4. The majority of African Americans celebrate Christmas
5. Even American Muslims and Jews celebrate Christmas, buy and give Christmas presents
6. All major retail businesses depend on Christmas sales
7. All Wall Street Sales expectations cumulate with year end Christmas sales
8. A Major Boycott of Christmas sales will have the largest impact and that impact makes the biggest statement.
9. All Negroes will not participate in this BuyCott. Assuming only 10% of Negroes participate, due to the volume of Christmas sales it is enough to be felt by Wall street.
10. If your goal is to create a negative sales impact, then there is no better time than the most important retail shopping period of the year.
11. More poor people go broke on Christmas than any other spending holiday. It's a positive that these poor people will save money rather than waste it and start off the year year with extra funds they normally would give to the stores and wouldn't have.
LOL, are you feeling that a boycott of purchases on a Muslim holiday is better? Most Americans don't even know when Muslim holidays are.
Criticizing is easy. Finding viable solutions is the path of most resistance.
Please give your thoughts on more effective economic strategies?
Posts: 4693 | From: Saturn | Registered: Apr 2012
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