Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/187632
•Pg_56-70__BMT_pg86-162 9/25/13 5:27 AM Page 57 the economic damage and the state's reputation had already suffered. Under pressure from civil rights groups and the National Football League Players Association the NFL moved the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix to Pasadena in protest. That single move by the NFL is estimated to have cost the state $350 million. The NBA also told the Phoenix Suns not to bother submitting a proposal for the All-Star game. From a purely African-American point of view, the economic harm to Arizona was borne largely by others, since that state's Black population at the time was less than five percent. Fast forward to 2010, Arizona once again made boycott news with a highly controversial immigrant profiling law that prompted several jurisdictions, including the city of Los Angeles to refrain from conducting business with the state until the law was repealed. Members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and good friends of NABHOOD and the AfricanAmerican community applied pressure to repeal the immigration profiling laws. AAHOA had a huge stake in the outcome, as AAHOA members own 40 percent of all hotels in the state. Several media organizations reported that this boycott cost the state over $140 million in lost convention business over a three-year period and $750 million in total economic loss. Did this boycott, like that of the King holiday get the desired result? One could argue yes. What did these two boycotts have in common? They got buy in from big business and jurisdictions nationwide who did not want to tarnish their brand. With that little history lessons as a backdrop, what about Florida? What do we do now? Will a future boycott of meetings, convention and tourism work in the 21st century? Are there other tools in the shed that can be used to apply pressure without abandoning such a hot (no pun intended) tourist, meeting and convention destination? The immediate aftermath of such a controversial decision almost always elicits condemnation and a call to action, but over the long haul they typically prove ineffective unless attached to a larger effort by political leaders or civil rights groups such as the NAACP. Social media was a beehive of activity from mid-July until early August. On the website moveon.org a petition called Boycott Florida Tourism had over 13,000 signatures at press time. Many of the comments on the site are not fit to print and were more of an expression of raw emotion and probably won't coalesce into any large-scale action. Thousands have taken to Twitter to express their anger. The #BoycottFloridaTourism has attracted tens of thousands pushing for a boycott until Stand Your Ground is repealed. Another Twitter hash tag receiving lots of comment is #NotFlorida. Both accounts have experienced a significant reduction in comments the further away we get from the verdict. On Facebook, the Boycott Florida account had just 4,500 signatures as of late August. While all of the above allowed some to express their outrage about the verdict and Stand Your Ground, these numbers certainly won't have any lasting impact, if any, on Florida tourism. Multi-Grammy award winners and other entertainers such as Stevie Wonder planned to abandon the state until Stand Your Ground was repealed. Several have since walked back those plans. Florida's popularity will make it difficult to boycott despite all the Social Media outrage. In an Orlando Sentinel story from July 16, 2013, Abe Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management believes, "Most people are familiar with what's going on and they won't blame an entire state for what happened in a very isolated case." It's a comment echoed by many AfricanAmericans we spoke with during the NAB- HOOD conference. Most of the attendees, including some locals were quick to distance themselves from events in Sanford. Some went so far as to say South Florida is entirely different than other parts of the state. The city of Miami Gardens, home of Trayvon Martin, hosts the annual Jazz in the Gardens. This event, hosted by radio personality Michael Baisden attracts an A-list of performers from Neyo, to Kenneth 'Babyface" Edmonds and Fantasia. In an ironic twist, it was Baisden who actually shed light on police inaction in Sanford. Miami Gardens is 70 percent AfricanAmerican. It would seem a little counterproductive to boycott an event that supports so many people of color Miami Gardens mayor Oliver Gilbert III believes "it would be tragic if a boycott ensues from this extraordinarily bad verdict." All the travel and tourism professionals we contacted for this story preferred not to comment. Off the record, many believed the impact would be minimal and were hoping the Florida tourism product would stand on its own, separate and distinct from the verdict and Stand Your Ground. Which brings us back to the question should travel and tourism be used as a political football to force change? We've chosen to remain neutral on the question, but don't mistake our reluctance to use travel and tourism as a wedge to force change as support for the status quo – far from it. We firmly believe Stand Your Ground should be repealed forthwith. It's just a matter of how to get it accomplished without hurting African-Americans. Welcome to Miami !! B M & T ••• Septmeber/October 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 57