The AC Phoenix
December 2004
Page 9
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Substituting Holidays For Holy Days
By: James Clingman
Guest Columnist
This year, as in years gone by, we
will see Black people run to the malls
and department stores to spend a
large part of our half trillion dollars on
gifts and other items in the name of
Christmas. Prior to that, our people
rushed to those same outlets on the
day after Thanksgiving to do the same
thing. And then next Easter, we will once again spend millions on clothing, eggs,
and chocolate. All of this will be done in the name of holidays.
While everyone seems to get into the act of buying during the holidays, my
concern is, of course, centered on the purchasing habits of Black people. Why?
Because we are the primary targets of the marketing campaigns and spend
more of our disposable income during these “holidays” than other consumer
groups in this country. In addition, I am concerned because we can least afford
to keep spending our money the way we do.
More importantly. Black people, as religious as we claim to be, have allowed
our Holy Days to be turned into holidays by greedy retailers. We sit back each
year and allow them to ratchet-up their sales campaigns, extend their hours of
operation, and even play on our sympathy when they do not meet their sales
forecasts during Christmas. And, boy, do we more than make up for it during
those after-Christmas sales.
I wonder what would happen if the merchants would do the same kinds of
sales campaigns during Ramadan or Hanukkah. Do you think they would get
away with it? I don’t. Outrage by Islam and Jewish groups would be the order
of the day. The merchants would undoubtedly be severely punished by these
groups as they withhold their dollars from the offending stores thereafter.
As Black people look for ways to make an impact, to gain economic
reciprocity, to increase our leverage, and to level the playing field, the answers
are right in front of us. All we have to do is refrain from our conspicuous
consumption during the holiday season. If we must spend money during that
time, why not set up our own bazaars in which Black vendors and other Black
business owners can sell their wares and services? That way we would be
killing two birds with one stone. Bringing back the respect we have lost for our
Holy Days; and redirecting a portion of our tremendous spending toward one
another.
Now that’s the very kind of action that would warrant a brand new holiday. It
would surely be worth celebrating the day that Black people finally decided to
make a drastic change in our economic destiny. What better time than this
Christmas? We could end the year on a high note and begin the next year on
an even higher note by rallying our consumers and by using our dollars as the
economic weapons they are. Talk about Ujamaa—it would be a fantastic
celebration!
Let’s face it. The only way for Black people to make a real move toward
economic power in this country is to withhold our dollars from others and direct
them toward our own economic efforts, such as business development and
business support. We cannot afford to continue being the victims of economic
exploitation; we cannot allow our children’s future to be mortgaged; and we
must not get mired in credit card debt, especially if we want to move beyond our
current status as the biggest and most generous consumer segment in the
world.
In Cincinnati (or Cincinn-apathy, as I call it) where I live, our group, the Black
United Front, has called for economic sanctions against the downtown
businesses. We have a Black-owned shopping center and we are asking our
people to shop there. We are also seeking vendors and other businesses to
bring their sales items to the mall and sell them there. I would love to see Black
people give 100 percent support to this effort, like the brothers and sisters did
in South Africa prior to the fall of apartheid, but I kind of doubt it. Here in
Cincinn-apathy, one of the largest plantations in the country, many of our
people are content with their positions and their status, and they are afraid that
if they make waves they will not get that extra ration of biscuits from the massa.
But, that’s alright. If we get 50 percent participation, I will be happy. We must
put an end to the exploitation of our people and our Holy Days. Get a move
ment started in your city and help change the economic situation in which we
find ourselves.
This Christmas, please make it a point to change your purchasing habits. You
owe it to yourselves. You owe it to your children. Please don’t end up owing it
to the merchants. Let’s return to our Holy Days. Enough with the “holidays.”