Where did African Americans use their economic strength to effect change?

African Americans used their economic class as a way to try and change policies and rules that they deemed unfair.  Many African Americans were in the lower class during the civil rights movement, but they played a rather large role in the economy.

One example of the role that African Americans played is the selective buying campaign.  The African Americans knew that they bought and supplied many of the local store owners with money.  However, they continued to face police brutality.  In order to effect change through economic conditions, they decided to boycott all stores and to not purchase any items from these people.

Another example of African Americans showing their economic strength was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The African Americans knew that they made up a very large portion of the social class, and that they therefore needed public transportation.  So, without the African Americans, the bus companies in Alabama would not have succeeded.  So, to try and gain rights, the African Americans didn't use the bus system.

One more example is the Greensboro Sit-in.  This was an event were two black males went to a counter, designated for white people only, and sat there the whole time.  They knew that they weren't going to be served but were trying to make the point that they deserve equal rights.

All of these examples show the ways that African Americans used their economic strength to their benefit in order to effect change.  The whites had to recognize these claims or else the economy would have suffered.