The tactics the groups are using to protest the incident are similar to a stock-purchasing strategy the Rev. Jesse Jackson has employed. The civil rights activist's Wall Street Project, formed in late 1997, owns shares in about 500 companies and seeks to raise awareness among corporate executives of the economic possibilities of doing business with minority-owned businesses. More investors seem to believe buying shares is more effective than selling them. Knowing that, Sheffield said he believes reaching the May executives' ears as shareholders will be the most effective means to encourage change at the company. His group is investigating charges of racial profiling, problems with minority hiring practices and a lack of urban development at the company, he said.
Boycotts are so difficult to sustain.
History suggests retail boycotts rarely hurt a company's bottom line. Kurt Barnard, publisher of Barnard's Retail Trend Report in Upper Montclair, N.J., said boycotts can be damaging to a store's business but will rarely reach beyond the site where the initial incident occurred. But others argue boycotts spread awareness about an issue. Laura Mosely, a lifelong member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said retailers at Fairlane were hurt in the late 1980s by a boycott that stemmed from a Dearborn ordinance that allowed only city residents into its parks. A number of highly publicized retail boycotts surfaced in recent years, with the most effective resulting in policy changes at the stores.