To paraphrase the words of the only king we should take notes from, Dr. Martin Luther King, right now is America’s best opportunity to bridge the gulf of the haves and have-nots. The haves today are large corporations profiting from the under-resourced, while the have-nots are our limited pockets of money and resources during a closed government.
If you believe a company has been discriminating in hiring, the simplest response is to stop giving them money. Executive Order 14173, signed this term by President Donald Trump, has “encouraged” — through prospective retaliation — private-sector corporations under the guise of “voluntary” cooperation to roll back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The companies who have complied include everyday household names like Amazon, Disney, Google, McDonald’s, Target and even Walmart. We have all driven past one of these companies, purchased from, and maybe even been employed by them. Now, it’s time we fight back economically. These companies are undoing decades of progress that made corporate America begin to resemble the diverse nation they profit from.
Take a look at Target for modern-day proof of economic boycotts working. The company erased years of progress as a leader in sustainable, equitable corporate programs. The firm created initiatives like 2020’s Target Forward, the Racial Equity Action and Change committee and committed to spend $2 billion supporting Black-owned businesses. The firm, along with discount giant Walmart, caved in to pressure from the White House and phased out support for Black workplace initiatives. Since then, the company lost $20 billion in market value due to Black people boycotting the retailer. In the midst of this backlash, Target’s CEO Brian Cornell resigned.
Why is purging DEI initiatives a negative for underserved communities? As consumers, we deserve to see ourselves reflected in the companies that profit from us. We deserve people behind the counter, in the boardroom and on design teams who understand our needs, our stories and our struggles — not erase them. We deserve more creative and innovative products that can only come from diverse perspectives. In the venture capital world, a closely studied occupation in terms of partner demographics, success rates for ethnically homogenous teams drop more than 20%, compared with a diverse group of decision-makers, according to a Harvard Business School study.
This wouldn’t be the first time economic boycotts have served as a tool for justice. Black activists stood on these principles in the 1930s when they blocked entrances of bigoted businesses. Boycotts against stores no longer supporting DEI practices must honor the successful “Don’t buy where you can’t work” picketing that lasted into Dr. King’s stewardship. Black consumers realized at the time that they did not have to add unwanted revenue to discriminatory structures.
Dr. King reverberated the $30 billion a year that Black people contribute to the economy be withheld for the sake of showing white store owners what Black purchasing power looked like. Looking at the years ahead, by 2030, the Black dollar will represent over $1 trillion in spending power, yet much of it leaves our communities too quickly.
Taking a stand doesn’t have to mean picketing. Communicating with your community using online forums opens up the door to finding hole-in-the-wall grocery stores in the neighborhood you might not have previously heard of. With projects delayed across the country due to the federal government shutdown, minority businesses stand to suffer a loss of up to $450 million, according to Creative Investment Research. Minority enterprises have been forced to downsize their staff and cut payroll. Many have taken out loans just to pay workers.
And though the administration may want consumers to feel powerless, it’s clear to us as young consumers the opportunity to maximize our dollars exists in this pivotal moment. It’s time that we become conscious consumers. We need to make informed decisions, ensuring our money has a positive social impact. That means recognizing that every purchase is a vote: a direct reflection of the world we want to build.
By purposefully redirecting purchasing power toward Black-owned businesses and companies that value DEI, we can turn spending into activism. Conscious consumption is about building differently in order to use our collective economic influence to demand accountability and drive real change. We deserve to know that our hard-earned dollar is going toward the betterment of our communities and society as a whole.
The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances found the racial wealth gap soared due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With no updated survey since 2023, we are left with damaged agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics to convey the significance of purchasing Black and relinquishing ties with companies that refuse to stick to diverse hiring initiatives.
The unemployment rate for Black women reached 7.8% this August surpassing any rates for this demographic since August 2021. In just five months, Black women have lost over 300,000 jobs nationally, disproportionate to job losses incurred by other demographic groups. About 13% of jobs that included “DEI” or “diversity” in the name have been slashed since 2023, according to a Revelio Labs study. That’s one of the factors behind the mass exodus of Black women from the workforce between March and August. It’s our immediate family, friends and peers being overlooked for job opportunities in the name of efficiency, merit or whatever new excuse corporations and this administration use to justify exclusion.
While listening in on a Black maternal mortality discussion at this year’s Congressional Black Caucus, we heard from leaders who discussed how, under the current regime, many companies are even scared to use the term “Black” in their branding. The explicit exclusion is becoming more commonplace.
Black women shouldn’t have to face this crisis alone.
Many Black women created startups during earlier economic downturns, according to a 2025 Wells Fargo business survey. They need resources to get off the ground. Entering entrepreneurship, Black businesses are damaged by federal and state governments turning away from philanthropic efforts. Approximately a third of nonprofits reported experiencing funding upheaval, according to a 2025 National Survey Nonprofit Trends and Impacts.
All of this is to say that inconvenience is the price of unification. Take the time to show up and show out for your community by buying Black- and minority-owned whenever and wherever you can. We have to remain connected and go out of our way to support each other in these times of economic uncertainty. Who knows, you might like being a conscious consumer so much that you never go back. So why not use the historically significant mantra “Don’t buy where you can’t work” during a time when the place that you shop makes a difference?