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October 18, 2025 3 mins

Kenneth Howard Smith, ThD., posed the following: The boycott, if just 20% of the Black Americans would stop purchasing anything for these treasured holiday's will be a knife in the heart of merchants everywhere. It's slowly sinking into the Corporate model that the crippling mass exit from Target and Walmart by Black shoppers has left these giants going broke. The majority of White Christian followers who practice racism continue to follow the tradition of Christ's love.

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(00:00):
This is a presentation of SDC News 1 distributed by SDC
Digital. The following presentation is by
Kenneth Howard Smith of the SDC Institute of the Humanities.
Ask the following question. Black Americans have begun to
advocate for boycotting Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The boycott, if just 20% of the Black Americans would stop

(00:21):
purchasing anything for these treasured holidays, will be a
knife in the heart of merchants everywhere.
It's slowly sinking into the corporate model that the
crippling mass exit from Target and Walmart by black shoppers
has left these giants going broke.
The majority of white Christian followers who practice racism
continue to follow the traditionof Christ's love.

(00:42):
SDC News One title Black Americans reconsider holiday
spending As economic protest gains momentum, a growing number
of Black Americans are calling for a boycott of Thanksgiving
and Christmas shopping, framing the move as an act of economic
resistance rather than a rejection of cultural tradition.
Organizers and advocates argue that withholding their

(01:02):
collective spending power, especially during the most
profitable time of year for US retailers, could send a
shockwave through the corporate world.
The idea is simple. If even 20% of Black consumers
abstain from buying gifts, decorations, or travel during
the holiday season, major merchants could face substantial
losses. With Black Americans

(01:22):
representing over a trillion dollars in annual buying power,
the gesture would not go unnoticed.
The strategy is already being felt in subtle ways.
Big box stores like Walmart and Target, long dependent on Black
consumer loyalty, have seen slipping trust and participation
within those communities. Analysts note that some of this
pullback is tied to broader dissatisfaction with racial

(01:45):
inequities in hiring, pay and community reinvestment, as well
as frustration with how corporations market diversity
without meaningfully practicing it.
Critics of the boycott call it divisive or impractical, but
supporters counter that traditional protest methods have
done little to disrupt entrenched systems.
They describe this economic stand as a peaceful but powerful

(02:06):
recalibration of influence, a reminder that business as usual
depends on black participation. At the same time, many are re
examining the holidays themselves.
Thanksgiving, with its mythologized history, and
Christmas increasingly seen as acorporate spectacle, are being
reinterpreted through the lens of Black self determination.

(02:28):
For some, that means replacing store bought celebrations with
community gatherings, local giving, or reflection on how
faith and freedom can coexist outside the marketplace.
Meanwhile, many white Christian congregations continue to preach
love, generosity, and compassioneven as racial divisions within
the culture persist. The contrast between the

(02:48):
spiritual message of Christ's love and the realities of racial
inequity remains a painful pointof tension, one that this new
movement is forcing the nation to confront.
Whether the boycott grows or fades, its impact is already
being measured not only in lost revenue, but in renewed
conversation for its advocates. That alone marks the beginning
of a new kind of holiday season 1, defined not by what's bought,

(03:11):
but by what's withheld. This was a presentation of SDC
News 1 distributed by SDC Digital.
The following presentation was created by by Kenneth Howard
Smith of the SDC Institute. Thank you for listening.
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