• Grassroots coalition calls for nationwide Black Friday boycott
• Target, Home Depot and Amazon singled out over immigration and DEI issues
• Organizers say consumers can wield economic power against ‘authoritarianism’
Building on a year of high-profile consumer boycotts, a coalition of civil-rights and progressive groups is urging Americans to withhold their shopping dollars this Thanksgiving weekend to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts — and the corporations they say enable them.
The We Ain’t Buying It campaign, led by many of the same organizations behind the recent No Kings protests, is calling on consumers to avoid Target, Home Depot and Amazon on Black Friday, typically one of the most lucrative retail days of the year. Instead, organizers want shoppers to support small and community-based businesses.
“We are reclaiming our power. We are redirecting our spending. And we are resisting this rise to authoritarianism,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter.
Groups behind the campaign view it as part of a broader, multi-front resistance effort that includes mass mobilizations, mutual aid and local organizing. It also echoes earlier economic protests in the Trump era — from ongoing Target boycotts over DEI rollbacks to a wave of cancellations of Disney+ and Hulu after ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Consumer pressure rarely causes major, immediate financial damage, experts say. But it can thrust powerful companies into an uncomfortable spotlight.
“They’re effective not so much because they actually reduce sales that much,” said Nien-hê Hsieh, a professor at Harvard Business School, in a Guardian article. “But it’s really about calling attention and putting the company in the spotlight.”
Why these companies are being targeted
We Ain’t Buying It is focusing on three corporate giants, though organizers say their message is meant to resonate across all major businesses.
- Amazon has long been a target for activists who object to its political spending and the corporate tax cuts it benefited from during Trump’s first administration.
- Home Depot has drawn criticism after reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out arrests on or near its properties, though the company says it receives no notice and plays no role in enforcement.
- Target is facing renewed scrutiny after scaling back its DEI goals — a move that helped spark months of boycotts and contributed to declines in sales and foot traffic. The retailer recently reported its first major layoffs in a decade and the upcoming departure of its CEO, who cited inflation, tariffs and the boycott among the pressures on the company.
Organizers say more than 80 groups, including labor unions, have signed onto the campaign since its launch earlier this month.
A weekend of no shopping — except local
The boycott begins on Thanksgiving with the motto: “Don’t spend a dime, spend time with your family.”
On Black Friday, participants are asked not to shop at all unless it’s at a local or independent business.
Saturday is also focused on local spending, while Sunday emphasizes mutual aid efforts.
On Cyber Monday, organizers are promoting a “cyber shutdown” — no online shopping and even deleting shopping apps or canceling subscriptions.
What organizers hope to achieve
The groups behind We Ain’t Buying It stress that the effort is about more than temporary boycotts of specific companies. They want consumers to rethink how their money flows and to reinvest in their own communities over the long term. Participant toolkits, social-media messaging and local events are all part of the push.
Activists have long used the Black Friday spotlight to call attention to labor abuses, the climate crisis, overconsumption and corporate practices. Economic boycotts can succeed in drawing public attention, especially from shoppers already concerned about the issues being raised.
Success ultimately depends on the goal, experts say. While it can be difficult to force changes in corporate policy through short-term or digital-only actions, consumer activism can be a powerful awareness tool — and sustained pressure has historically helped shift the practices of companies and governments alike, from the farmworker strikes of the 1960s to anti-apartheid boycotts in the 1980s.