A new social movement is gaining traction ahead of Thanksgiving week, not through marches or rallies, but through silence and spending restraint.
Activist and social commentator Ashley B, known online as @ashleytheebarroness, has become one of the most prominent voices behind the “Mass Blackout”, a weeklong economic boycott scheduled for Nov 25 to Dec. 2, 2025. The campaign, shared across Instagram and other platforms, urges Americans — particularly Black consumers — to refrain from spending, working, or engaging with large corporations during one of the most profitable retail periods of the year.
“We’re not just staying quiet. We’re refusing their system: no spending, no projects, no comfort. Because if the money stops, the machine grinds,” Ashley declares in her post. “This isn’t consumer guilt. It’s strategic pressure.”
In a powerful video message viewed hundreds of thousands of times, she presents the boycott as a modern continuation of historic economic protests, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to Operation Breadbasket, arguing that withholding dollars has historically achieved what speeches and protests could not.
“History has already shown us that pulling our dollars hits harder than any march ever could,” Ashley says. “When companies realized ignoring Black consumers meant losing profit, they started hiring, promoting, and pandering.”
The Message Behind the Movement
The “Mass Blackout” calls for no spending between Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, a period that includes Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, three of the busiest consumer days in the U.S. Instead, Ashley and others are urging people to “support small, support local, support Black.”
The message isn’t about austerity, she insists, but about power: “Every dollar that we spend is a vote for the world that we live in. They’ve ignored our voices. Let’s see if they ignore our absence.”
The movement echoes a verified campaign called “Blackout the System,” which first staged an economic boycott in September 2025. According to a Snopes investigation, the initiative, linked to a coalition of groups including The Take It Back Movement, seeks to apply economic pressure against what it calls “corporate greed and political corruption.”
The second “wave,” timed to disrupt holiday consumer spending, has been endorsed by several influencers and even celebrities, including Rosie O’Donnell, who shared the dates on Instagram.
A Growing Digital Resistance
Social media has transformed traditional protest methods into digital calls to action, and this campaign is no exception. The movement’s simple message and viral format have already sparked widespread discussion about the intersection of economics, race, and activism.
Critics, however, question the tangible impact of such a short-term boycott.
Economic experts note that unless large-scale participation occurs, corporations may not feel the pinch. Still, activists argue the point isn’t immediate financial ruin — it’s collective awakening.
As Ashley puts it: “We’re not asking anymore. We’re shutting this down. Because when we pull our dollars, we remind this country that we are not just consumers — we are the economy.”
