May 11, 1968: 55 years ago, May 11 1968, Black housewives organized by the Blacks For [...]
55 years ago, May 11 1968, Black housewives organized by the Blacks For Justice Committee led a boycott of Oakland’s Housewives Market. They hoped to force the Retail Downtown Merchants Association to pressure the Oakland Police to indict the officers who killed Bobby Hutton
The boycott was organized after downtown merchants refused outright to use their considerable political clout to push for justice for Hutton (who had been killed in April) or for the other police reforms demanded by Blacks For Justice https://t.co/abCaGEeRu3
While the boycott was not successful, it did manage to do significant damage to Housewives Market’s business. The market served a largely Black clientele, and many turned away after seeing signs that read “When you shop here you support racism, pig brutality, exploitation”
Despite the boycott’s primary demand being about justice for a slain Black Panther, the Black Panther Party chose not to become involved with the boycott; Party leader Eldridge Cleaver said they “wanted it to be known that there are other people concerned about these things”
