This Black Friday, some members of the Ypsilanti community are opting for an economic blackout instead of shopping this week.
The week-long blackout started Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, and will last until Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. The guidelines for the blackout are to avoid making digital or in-store purchases except from small businesses, to stop working, and to stop streaming and cancel subscription services.
The website for the blackout, themassblackout.com, calls Americans to participate and says, “We’re not targeting small businesses or communities — we’re targeting the corporate systems that profit from injustice, fuel authoritarianism, and crush worker power."
The national movement aims to make an economic impact on large corporations during the holiday shopping season. It also directs participants to shop locally instead.
A protest in Ypsilanti held Monday, Nov. 24, was focused on supporting local businesses, encouraging those driving by to shop at small shops in Ypsilanti instead of financially supporting big-box stores.
“As far as I’m concerned, we have the United Corporations of America, not the United States of America,” protester Joanne Dula said.
Gordon McAllister, founder of Ypsilanti Indivisible and organizer of the Nov. 24 protest, said it is an important message to get out, even if Ypsilanti isn’t everyone’s local — it plants the seed for them to shop wherever is local to them.
“We’re just trying to help out all the businesses in Ypsilanti, give them an extra boost during a time when sometimes they get overlooked,” McAllister said.
The protest timing correlates with Small Business Saturday, an annual event where community members are encouraged to shop at small businesses. This year, Small Business Saturday will happen Saturday, Nov. 29. This is the 15th year of the event since it was founded by American Express in 2010.
For those looking to participate in Small Business Saturday in Ypsilanti this year, Yours Truly Event Venue will host a Small Business Saturday Vendor Show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Yours Truly Event Venue is at 114 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti.
“Keep the money in your community,” McAllister said.
