“The threat of a boycott is one that is frequently employed by the NAACP when it is displeased about something, which is most of the time.”
The Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP has set its sights on NASCAR, Homestead’s major national attraction, in its fight against the Confederate Flag.
The civil rights organization will first reach out to officials with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, seeking to enlist their help in efforts to ban the controversial symbol from city-sponsored events.
If that does not work, however, NAACP officials say they will consider a boycott and protest march at the NASCAR events slated for Nov. 20-22 at the Homestead-Miami Motor Speedway
NAACP officials on Wednesday said they are drafting a letterto NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, who has publicly spoken out against theConfederate Flag in recent years.
If the civil rights organization does not get the racingleague’s cooperation and support, officials there said they are prepared tobegin contacting NASCAR’s sponsors, and to stage protests during the races.
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“Silly as it is, such a threat often serves to intimidate local governmental bodies and from a practical standpoint there is nothing that can be done to stop them from attempting to enact such a boycott,’’ McCredie continued. “What they don’t want you to know, however, is that most people with any sense see such a tactic as exactly what it is – a self-serving political device with much more bark than bite.”
Fuller disagreed.
“I don’t think an organization like NASCAR, that has so many major sponsors, should bring people here who could be subjected to this type of racism,” she said.