LAFAYETTE, L.a — The Greater Southwest Ministerial Coalition is asking those living in north Lafayette to stop shopping within the city — just in time for the holiday season.
The boycott is planned to start on Thanksgiving and end on Christmas Day.
The people who live and work in Lafayette's northside told KATC they feel the area is in shambles compared to the rest of the Hub City.
One business owner, Dr. Louella Riggs Cook, owner of Lo's Boutique in the Northgate Mall, said she stands by the boycott even if it hurts business in the short-term because the lack of attention the area gets from the city already negatively impacts her business.
"For some reason the powers to be thought it would be best to bring the dollars to other parts of the city and take it away from the northside," Cook said. "Making the north-side more of an impoverished area."
Bishop Alton Gatlin of Gethsemane Church of God in Christ is not part of this coalition, but he understands why his fellow religious leaders are getting involved in this way. He told KATC that fighting with their pocketbooks is a last resort.
"Along with the other preachers, residents who live here, who have businesses here, who serve here, we're not just going to stop," Gatlin said. "We're going to keep working, keep fighting, and keep doing whatever's necessary until north Lafayette gets its fair share of the pie."
Those looking to participate in the boycott are being encouraged to instead spend their money on businesses elsewhere, in surrounding cities like Scott, Youngsville, and Broussard.
KATC reached out to the pastor spearheading this boycott, but he told us he did not wish to comment on it at this time. A spokesperson for the coalition, however, said they hope thAT the impact of this boycott will bring attention to not only economic disparity the northside faces, but racial disparities as well.
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