In 1892, after her friends were lynched for running a grocery that competed with a white one, Ida B. Wells told Black Memphis to take their money and their labor and leave. The boycott worked. It proved a truth the powerful never forget: a community that moves its dollars together can move a city.
Boycott to Build takes her strategy and turns it forward. Instead of only withholding money from what harms us, we direct it toward what we want to exist, pooling small, collective pledges to build the movement, fund the campaigns, and grow the legacy returned to her name.
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them. Ida B. Wells
How the dollars work
Pooled, not scattered
Many small pledges add up to real power, the same way churches, mutual-aid societies, and neighbors have always built what they needed.
Movement, not the film
Redirected dollars support the movement and legacy fund only, tax-deductible through our 501(c)(3) partner and never commingled with film financing.
Transparent by design
We report what's raised and where it goes. Turning the light of truth on our own books is part of the point.
How it works
- Redirect a dollarMake a one-time or monthly pledge to the movement fund. Any amount counts, the power is in the pooling.
- Bring it to your communityHost a "Boycott to Build" town hall with your church, chapter, or organization and pledge together.
- Watch it buildYour dollars fund the campaigns and the legacy, and we report the impact back to the community that made it.
Bring it home
Boycott to Build is strongest in person. In partnership with the NAACP, churches, and community organizations, we help neighbors organize town halls where people learn the history, pledge together, and turn a room full of small commitments into something lasting.
Build what you want to see.
Ida moved a city with pooled dollars and collective will. Add yours, and help build the movement she started.
Redirect a Dollar » Host a Town Hall »