Black Friday sees protests over Ferguson decision, predictions of low retail sales
Ahead of Black Friday shopping, demonstrators around St. Louis turned out late Thursday at top retail outlets to protest a grand jury decision not to indict a police officer for killing an unarmed teen. Black Friday sales, meanwhile, are predicted to lag.
Demonstrators, according to Reuters and CBS News, protested inside multiple St. Louis County Walmart stores, chanting “No Black Friday” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!”, the phrase that has become synonymous with the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, 28.
On Monday, it was announced that a St. Louis County grand jury had decided it would not indict Wilson for the killing of Brown on Aug. 9. Wilson, who is white, has maintained that he used deadly force against Brown, a black man unarmed at the time of the incident, in self-defense. A majority of witnesses testified to the grand jury that Brown had his hands raised and was running away from Wilson as the officer shot him repeatedly.
Peaceful protesters at one Walmart were quietly dispersed Thursday night by a small contingent of police, Reuters reported, before moving on to a Target store nearby for a similar demonstration.
Other Thursday protests, according to KSDK, took place at Walmarts in Manchester, West Florissant, St. Charles, and Maplewood, all of which are suburbs of St. Louis.
Similar protests are expected throughout Friday, in the St. Louis area and nationwide. Some activistscalled for Black Friday boycott "to galvanize economically and influence change in the politics of American Justice pertaining to Law Enforcement vs Citizens."
"There's one language that America understands - it's the money," Rev. Timothy McDonald said, according to CBS News.
Others took to social media, using hashtags such as #blackoutblackfriday and #notonedime to encourage shoppers to patronize only black-owned businesses.
"It's standing up and coming out to these events and showing support and meeting people, and organizing, you know, all of that is going to take a stand," activist Dionne Hamilton said, according to CBS News.
Overall, shopping crowds were reportedly thinner than usual on Black Friday, as retail observers say many are opting to shop on Thanksgiving night or online rather than to hunt for special deals on the morning after the holiday.
Holiday shopping "has moved from an event on Black Friday morning to a multi-day event,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told Reuters.
"The consumer clearly enjoys shopping on Thanksgiving," he said, adding that Target sold 1,800 televisions per minute nationwide from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night.
Walmart reported that Thanksgiving Day was the retail outlet’s second-highest online sales day after last year’s Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving in which retailers promote various shopping deals.
The National Retail Federation predicted that November and December sales this year will go up 4.1 percent, to $616.9 billion, which would mean the top holiday shopping season in three years, according to Reuters.
Last year, some 247 million shoppers spent $59.1 billion over Thanksgiving weekend.
Reuters also reported that only a handful of unruly incidents occurred Friday morning, as shoppers competed for the best deals. For example, police had to break up a fight over Barbie dolls in Los Angeles, according to CNN.
Ahead of Black Friday shopping, demonstrators around St. Louis turned out late Thursday at top retail outlets to protest a grand jury decision not to indict a police officer for killing an unarmed teen. Black Friday sales, meanwhile, are predicted to lag.
Demonstrators, according to Reuters and CBS News, protested inside multiple St. Louis County Walmart stores, chanting “No Black Friday” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!”, the phrase that has become synonymous with the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, 28.
On Monday, it was announced that a St. Louis County grand jury had decided it would not indict Wilson for the killing of Brown on Aug. 9. Wilson, who is white, has maintained that he used deadly force against Brown, a black man unarmed at the time of the incident, in self-defense. A majority of witnesses testified to the grand jury that Brown had his hands raised and was running away from Wilson as the officer shot him repeatedly.
Peaceful protesters at one Walmart were quietly dispersed Thursday night by a small contingent of police, Reuters reported, before moving on to a Target store nearby for a similar demonstration.
Other Thursday protests, according to KSDK, took place at Walmarts in Manchester, West Florissant, St. Charles, and Maplewood, all of which are suburbs of St. Louis.
Similar protests are expected throughout Friday, in the St. Louis area and nationwide. Some activistscalled for Black Friday boycott "to galvanize economically and influence change in the politics of American Justice pertaining to Law Enforcement vs Citizens."
"There's one language that America understands - it's the money," Rev. Timothy McDonald said, according to CBS News.
Others took to social media, using hashtags such as #blackoutblackfriday and #notonedime to encourage shoppers to patronize only black-owned businesses.
"It's standing up and coming out to these events and showing support and meeting people, and organizing, you know, all of that is going to take a stand," activist Dionne Hamilton said, according to CBS News.
Overall, shopping crowds were reportedly thinner than usual on Black Friday, as retail observers say many are opting to shop on Thanksgiving night or online rather than to hunt for special deals on the morning after the holiday.
Holiday shopping "has moved from an event on Black Friday morning to a multi-day event,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told Reuters.
"The consumer clearly enjoys shopping on Thanksgiving," he said, adding that Target sold 1,800 televisions per minute nationwide from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night.
Walmart reported that Thanksgiving Day was the retail outlet’s second-highest online sales day after last year’s Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving in which retailers promote various shopping deals.
The National Retail Federation predicted that November and December sales this year will go up 4.1 percent, to $616.9 billion, which would mean the top holiday shopping season in three years, according to Reuters.
Last year, some 247 million shoppers spent $59.1 billion over Thanksgiving weekend.
Reuters also reported that only a handful of unruly incidents occurred Friday morning, as shoppers competed for the best deals. For example, police had to break up a fight over Barbie dolls in Los Angeles, according to CNN.