1,000 plus Middle-Eastern and Yemini bodega and small business owners across NYC are unifying in solidarity today against President Trump’s Muslim Ban. Buzzfeed News is reporting that the #BodegaStrike is taking place from 12–8 p.m. As is the point with all protests, this will greatly impact day to day activities of local residents that shop at these bodegas.
The organizers of the #BodegaStrike took to Facebook and posted the following message:
This shutdown of grocery stores and bodegas will be a public show of the vital role these grocers and their families play in New York’s economic and social fabric. During the shutdown, grocery store owners will spend time with their families and loved ones to support each other; many of these families have been directly affected by the Ban.
At a planned event on Thursday evening, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, ‘merchants will share the impact the Ban has had on them and their loved ones,’ as well as ‘stories read on behalf of families who are afraid to come forward.’
Bodegas are essential to the fabric of NYC, this strike will have an impact. Hopefully it will spur action from NYC residents to stop the injustices that are taking place under this new government administration.