Do Boycotts Actually Work?

From Gaza to Sudan, Ethiopia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea to Haiti and Russia to Ukraine, it seems with every passing day news of global turmoil, strife, conflict and war emerges. Learning details about the unrest and uprisings taking place in other countries can lead to feelings of hopelessness. Reading about a conflict that is seemingly halfway across the world can cause feelings of apathy. People may have asked themselves “what can?I?actually do to change this situation?” Instead of leaning on feelings of dejection and despondency, many are focusing on what small and large actions can be taken to impact change.

Social media has become a powerful tool to raise awareness about atrocities and injustice but offline, many have turned to boycotting as a way to exert collective power. Boycotts are not new; they have been used throughout history to impact change. But do boycotts actually work? This article examines the utility of boycotts and whether they can actually drive social change.

Apartheid?was a system of “racial segregation and white supremacy,” that allowed for the legal racial segregation of South Africans from 1948-1994. In 1959 the?Anti-Apartheid Movement, which started off as the Boycott Movement, was a way for international shoppers to boycott apartheid goods of South African products. The nearly 35-year consumer boycott asked buyers to “Look at the Label” when purchasing products in order to avoid South African products. The boycotts were a series of?collective actions?that were taken to protest apartheid and in 1994, the apartheid government was finally dismantled.

In December 1955-December 1956, the?Montgomery Bus Boycotts?took place as an act of resistance against the segregated seating of city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. After the infamous incident where Rosa Parks was asked to move to the back of the city bus to make space for white passengers and was subsequently arrested, a boycott of the Montgomery bus system was organized. During the boycott, riders utilized alternative modes of transportation such as organized carpools, Black taxi drivers, and walking instead of taking the city bus. The boycott lasted for a total of 381 days, up until December 20, 1956—the very next day, on December 21, 1956, Montgomery buses were integrated.

In April of 1963, the Black population in the British city of Bristol?protestedthe Bristol Omnibus Company and the Transportation and General Workers’ Union because of their refusal to hire Black employees. A boycott was sparked after the then-18-year-old Guy Baily was in a job interview for an open bus conductor position and was told by a bus manager that Omnibus Company did not hire Black people. In August of 1963, after many months of boycotts to challenge the racist policy, it was finally agreed that the bus company would change the policy and the company eventually hired its first non-white bus conductor, a British-Asian Sikh man named Raghibir Singh. The boycotts were thought to be a?major catalyst?to U.K.’s first?Race Relations Act of 1965, which prohibited discrimination in public places and made hatred based on a person’s “colour, race, or ethnic or national origins” illegal.

In September of 1965, the?Delano Grape Strike?took place and became what has been called one of the most important strikes in U.S. history. During the strike, more than 2,000 Filipino-American farm workers in Bakersfield, California refused to go to their job as grape-pickers to protest their low wages. The strike lasted for five years and included a boycott of table grapes. Workers who were part of the union (the United Farm Workers) in California refused to load non-union grapes, causing them to rot and in January 1968, there was a?total boycott?of California table grapes. In July of 1970, the growers in the area agreed to increase pay for grape pickers, contribute to their union healthcare plan and protect workers against pesticides used in the fields.

Recently, with the increased violence in Gaza following Oct. 7, a movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel (called BDS for short) regained popularity. Originally?launched?in 2005, BDS can be?described?as “a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality.” For more than two months, consumers have been?encouraged?to boycott companies with ties to Israel to protest the Israeli military’s involvement in the killing of more than?20,000 Gaza residents?in what has?been called?“the deadliest conflict for Palestinians in the 75 years since Israel was established.” Many seem to think the boycotts are working; Starbucks has been one of the many companies targeted for consumer boycotts and?reports reveal decreases in the company’s market value since the boycotts started in mid-October.

There may be some?skepticism?about the effectiveness of boycotts but looking back at history, there should be no question regarding whether boycotts can actually work—the answer is clearly yes, but there?is?a caveat: boycotts should be one of?many?tools in our arsenal for social change. When coupled with other collective actions like raising awareness, amplifying the needs of those directly impacted, contacting elected officials and sending tangible resources, change?can?happen. According to research from Harvard political scientist?Erica Chenoweth, only about 3.5% of the population’s participation is needed to create serious political change. No action is too small and we must remember that any rock, no matter how small, that is thrown into the pond of liberation will create a ripple effect that contributes to greater societal shifts for years to come.

This article was originally published in Forbes.

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