#NotMyBlackFriday
The term “Black Friday” makes me sick. When I hear those two words together it’s like watching someone scratch their nails across a chalk board. I simply want to scream. It’s almost 2018 and we’re still dedicating an entire day of shopping and savings with a highly offensive label. Black Friday…Are you kidding me?
Why don’t we have “White Wednesday” sales the day before Thanksgiving? Or how about “Mexican Mondays” on the first Monday following Christmas? Why single out one particular race? And we don’t even have the common decency to label the day correctly. The day should be called African-American Friday. It repulses me to see all these cisgender CEO’s flaunting their Black Friday sales in my face. Do they not comprehend how offensive a Black Friday sale is? Are they so out of touch with reality? As a transracialgender person who identifies as a 500 pound black woman named Panda I’m appalled by these Black Friday sales. The insensitivity of corporations and shoppers really boils my blood which is not good for my type 2 diabetes.
What’s even more appalling is the term “Black Friday” originated from the sale of slaves after Thanksgiving (I read this on a blog, so it must true). So now major corporations like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart are promoting a holiday that originated from the sale of human beings…it’s ABSOLUTELY disgusting! But I’m not just blaming the companies, because the shoppers share an equal responsibility. Just remember that when you walk out of Best Buy with a $100 75 inch TV you have the blood of slaves on your hands. When you purchase a brand new X-Box you essentially sold a child into slavery. Or if you bought a train set at Toys R’ Us for your son you basically ripped a child away from his family at a slave auction.
Everyone is guilty…the companies, the shoppers, the advertisers, and anyone who hasn’t made an effort to stop this horrific holiday. But something needs to be done. Action needs to be taken. And it needs be so drastic that change will actually occur. The answer is obviously a hashtag. #NotMyBlackFriday. In the past year we’ve seen how hashtags have changed people’s opinions and stopped them from doing awful things. From #NotMyPresident, to #MeToo, to #ADayWithoutImmigrants, every hashtag has worked successfully and solved the problem it was intended to fix.
So lets join together to end a holiday that is an abomination to African-Americans everywhere. Let’s fight united together to end a day that marginalizes a particular group of people. We can show how united we are with a simple phrase… #NotMyBlackFriday. So open those social media apps and make those voices heard. Because this Friday is #NotMyBlackFriday.