Reed's Ice Cream Boycott

In January 1953, DePorres Club members began a new campaign at Reed's Ice Cream, a popular local destination with a blatant anti-Black hiring policy. Club members first sent a letter to Reed's management, inviting discussion for a hiring policy change but threatening a boycott if no corrective action was taken. After receiving no response, the Club distributed handbills to residents, clubs, churches, and organizations in the North Omaha area. By May, they intensified their efforts, tracking information of those who patronized Reed's with an underlying threat that their names would be released to the public. 

By July, the DePorres Club began picketing in front of Reed's every night. The efforts were successful, with Reed's seeing a significant decline in businesses during what should have been their busiest time of the year. However, tensions with the Omaha Police had begun to intensify. In previous confrontations with the police, picketers were primarily told to keep the entrance and sidewalk clear of people, instructions which they largely followed without incident.  This time, though, Karl Watson, a Black fourteen-year-old who had joined the picketing crowd out of curiosity, was arrested for allegedly saying, "Omaha's a funny town." Although his vagrancy charge was dismissed by a judge the following morning, another member of the DePorres Club, George Barton, was also arrested by the police on North 24th Street for no apparent reason; he was soon released after contacting Father Markoe. These police incidents increased public support for the Club's efforts, and nightly picketing continued into the early fall. 

Christian Becker, the store manager, remained defiant, proclaiming that he could hire whomever he pleased. By the winter months, cold weather and waning public interest led to a decline in picketing, but the campaign remained the Club's top priority. Reed's continued to see a decline in business. On January 29th, 1954, with impending signs of bad business in the summer months, Reed's Ice Cream hired a Black salesperson at their main station, effectively ending their discriminatory hiring practices. 

At a meeting on February 1st, the Club voted to end the boycott. Afterwards, they went to Reed's Ice Cream to enjoy some ice cream. By April, it was reported that multiple Black women were employed at Reed's. After a year-long boycott, the DePorres Club's efforts succeeded. 

For more information, see Holland (2014), Chapters 21, 22, 23.