‘Instead Of Boycotting Stores, Uplift And Promote’
“We have decided instead of boycotting stores weekly we will uplift and promote Black businesses for you to support,” the Black Lives Bermuda organisation group said.
This statement follows after the Black Lives Matter march yesterday, which saw thousands of people march through the streets of Hamilton. At the end of the march the organisers called for the community to boycott one store a week, starting with the SuperMarket, a decision which received some criticism across various social media platforms.
Video showing a look at the Black Lives Matter march on Sunday:
In an online post, the Black Lives Bermuda group said, “Good day Community, we hear you loud and clear and we thank you for your gracious comments and continued support. We now know our announcement to boycott the Supermart was extreme and has not been received favorably.
“Our decision was based on the highly priced goods and services we need to survive.
“We also want to highlight that if you feel you will lose your job based on a one week boycott because you participated in a protest than that truly reflects the integrity of the company and that Black lives don’t matter.
“The protest was in support of the BLM movement globally, however, we can no longer turn a blind eye to the issues in our own community that plagues our people.
“After much reading and discussion, we have decided instead of boycotting stores weekly we will uplift and promote Black businesses for you to support. Regarding the overstated prices we ask you to complete the petition form online to make your voice heard. This creates change!
“We appreciate your strong show of commitment yesterday and we want you to feel comfortable that we will make the best decisions that will benefit the community.
“We are a young progressive organization and welcome your comments and suggestions. We are here to do right by you, the Community. We are an organization that wants change, and we ask for your support collectively.
“We are asking you the Community to put forward your concerns and what changes you would like to see so we can remain as a unit.”
Image posted by the organisers today thanking everyone for their support:
Too late. You should never have called for boycotting anyone. I can only guess at some of the names and business owners who called you today fearful of reverse boycotts. You took what could have been a good thing and ruined it….shame on you.
1) The boycott was foolish but at least you have listened and learned.
2) If prices are too high shop somewhere else. Basic.
3) Stop buying on Amazon and support local business. You might be surprised there is no difference in price.
4) Prices are high here for numerous reasons including the cost of getting goods here; lack of bulk; cost of spoilage and worldwide events. Meats and vegetables vary by the week due to demand and availability. Read Business 101.
5) If it’s that easy open a competing store.
Well said. BLM should open their own co-operative. The experience for them would be very educational at the very least.
Who’s them?
OJ. The them is obvious. Now I’ll try and keep this simple for you. The call is to reduce costs. Here are some examples of food produced in Bermuda which does not need to include the cost of shipping so should be cheap.
Carrots. About 3 times more expensive than abroad (can’t import)
Potatoes. More expensive but not so much.
Eggs. About twice as expensive as imported.
Locally caught fish. About twice the price as imported.
Fresh corn. About 3 times more expensive.
Now, why is this and why don’t you demand locally produced food to be slashed in price?
Because OJ’s an idiot? Dunno, give me a clue!
You, dumba$$
Utter jokers. Its like a Monty Python sketch.
Wanker
racist
This went from support against police brutality to boycotting business and now uplifting blacks! Bait and switch and lost my support as a result!
To The Organizers , I say well said because we really don’t need to Boycott outright, but there are ways to Boycott that will impact just the same and we have to be very mindful that there are White owned companies that have given very generously to Black families across Bermuda, both past and present, while there are some white establishments that still show there high level of racism, and all you have to do is study your facts on historical situations among us.
Supermart is by far one of the best stores that have stood behind and with the Black community for decades.
Examples please
Guess he needs time to think.
Somewhere between the Bird Cage, a few hours later & back to the Bird Cage, the organisers lost the plot.
They had a good cause to follow, as laid out by other protests around the world, & turned it into something else.
Maybe the motive was a deception from the very beginning.
How about you boycott all of the grocery stores for the rest of the year. Let’s chat after that.
In my 55 years I’ve never heard any one in the business sector.. say business is good…They’re forever crying poverty.
Idk if grocers,as an industry are barely scraping by according to the narrative being portrayed.
But as a society, who doesn’t
have income taxes. And limited
options in industries. There should be a way know, if we’re being gouged by greed or the problem for high food prices lie elsewhere.
I’m not against high end grocers… but there should be alternatives for those who just want to eat..
If we are going to be called to boycott a store because their goods are deemed to be overpriced (goods that are obviously the same price for all racial demographics), then we should start by boycotting the civil service, a more overpriced institution one will not find. (Their apology missed the mark and BLM leaders should probably consider distancing themselves from them imho)