Don t buy from Acme, Toys-R-Us or Cadillac Dealers.
Why not?
I m glad you asked. These three businesses were chosen to represent the hundreds of businesses that Blacks and Latinos support. As a people, we have chosen to support businesses owned by all races. We do not discriminate. Whites on the other hand will. How often have you walked into a Black owned business and seen white customers? The businesses we support, unfortunately, also discriminate against us.
Let's take Trenton as an example and deal only with national retail businesses. In the entire city only Exxon, Gulf, Getty, Sunoco, Edwards, Radio Shack, Macdonald, Blockbusters, Rite-Ad, Fleet, First Union, Summit, Trenton Savings, Dunkin Donuts, Eckerds, CVS, Payless Shoes, Sovereign Bank, KFC, Mandees, and The Avenue do business inside the city. Of those, Getty, Rite-Aid, Sovereign Bank, Fleet Bank and Gulf are in the Black and Latino neighborhood.
An ocean of business surrounds Trenton. We are a poor, parched island surrounded by a sea of wealth. This is not accidental. It has been done purposely to economically strangle the Black and Latino citizens of our city. It s repeated in every Black and Latino neighborhood, from Harlem, NY to Willingboro, NJ to Washington, D.C.
Through all of this, we have responded with our typical passiveness. We support all those businesses, regardless. We have wished no harm to any, but our passiveness has lead to the economic starvation of our community. We cannot continue to support those who will not in turn support us.
That s why you must not buy from Acme, Toys-R-Us or Colonial Cadillac. These companies are no worst than, Hyatt, Macy s, Sears, Wal-Mart, Ford, Red Lobster, Midas Muffler, Berger King, and the hundreds of national retail businesses. They are the ones we are starting with.
When Acme, Toys-R-Us and Cadillac respond to us by opening stores in our community, supporting Black and Latino businesses and generally looking out for the welfare of those who look out for their welfare, then we will buy from them again.
When they understand and accept that their business, their livelihood, is dependent on our dollars and we all have to work together then we will move on to the next. However, these businesses must understand that we are the ones who spend millions of dollars with them and we expect something more in return for our support.
70,000 Blacks and Latinos live in Trenton. Each week we spend upwards of $350,000 at Acme. That s about $18,000,000 per year. That s a lot of money. Along with our groceries we demand respect and support of our families.
An example: last September the PTA/PTO and Parent Council of Trenton held a district wide picnic. These groups represent about 40,000 people. Acme donated $20 in discounts. That s an insult! That is why Acme is on this list. They have not respected our money or us. We have to make them understand they depend on us more than we depend on them. We ve done without their aid for a long time, they ve never been without ours.
Every year our women spend millions for toys and diapers and our children s clothes. Toys-R-Us has benefited big-time. They make millions of dollars from us. Why can t there be a Toys-R-Us in our city? There s no reason why there can t, other than they don t care enough about us. We are fine with them so long as we bring our money to their suburban stores and they don t have to share any of their wealth with us.
Everybody knows Black people and Cadillac go together like fish and grits. Nevertheless, have you ever seen a Cadillac advertisement in a Black newspaper? Are there more than token Blacks selling at the dealerships? Has Colonial ever sponsored a Black or Latino event in this city? We must let GM know that Lincoln will do, nicely!
Businesses in any community bring all kinds of returns. They pay taxes which lowers ours and supports the schools. They build pleasing places and improve the infrastructure. They clean up and anchor neighborhoods. They attract other businesses, and most importantly they provide JOBS!
Remember, Don t Buy from Acme, Toys-R-Us, or Cadillac. Tell you friends. Spread the word. We are our only hope to stop Economic Segregation. It s no good for us or anyone else.
Join the cause.
