A nationwide “fast” from spending money every Friday is entering its second week after a coalition of Charleston-area activists recently launched the boycott to counter White supremacy.
The group is calling on “everyday people” across the United States to participate in a weekly monetary boycott they’re calling Fasting Fridays.
“Everyday, White supremacists kidnap everyday people who also happen to be immigrants,” said the Rev. Charles Heyward, one of the co-chairs of the new national Everyday People movement. “Everyday, White supremacists work to erase jobs, funding and resources from programs.”
Heyward, pastor of Edisto Presbyterian Church, said in a prepared statement that policies further threaten the health and survival of people around the world by “refusing to care for the land that sustains us.”
Faith and community leaders, political and grassroots organizations and activists devised the Fasting Fridays boycott.
Treva Williams of Charleston, one of the Everyday People organizers, said 15 groups have so far participated in planning the boycott that was launched on the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church that claimed the lives of nine church members.
Abstaining from patronizing a business, institution or industry is a classic tool to force change, organizers said. Fasting Fridays is a continuation of this type of action, they said.
While the Fasting Fridays demands are broad and big, organizers have set ten benchmarks aimed at the federal government to gauge progress. The benchmarks include demands around DEI, reproductive rights, trans health and safety, immigration, policing, disability justice, education, economic justice, Palestine and the environment.
The Rev. Adam Shoemaker, pastor of St. Stephens Episcopal Church, is an Everyday People co-chair.
“We’ve had enough,” he said. “While it’s true that Everyday People don’t have the money those in power have, collectively, our money matters, and we’ll withhold it every Friday until we no longer smart under the uneven and brutal rule of white supremacists anywhere on this land.”
Visit everydaypeoplefast.com for more information about the boycott and other coming events and opportunities.
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