(l. to r.) Rev. Cheryl Anthony, Bishop Eric Figueroa, Activist Taharka Robinson
Activist Kirsten Foy
Rev. Cheryl Anthony
Activist with placard
Kirsten Foy and Taharka Robinson
Community members gathered outside of two Bed-Stuy Rent-a-Centers on Friday to protest their predatory business model and declare a boycott of the store.
Bishop Eric R. Figueroa Sr. of Bed-Stuy’s New Life Tabernacle announced in front of a Rent-a-Center located on the corner of Bedford and Fulton in Bed-Stuy that they would “no longer allow these predatory lending practices” in the community.
Protestors held placards of a Rent-a-Center contract for a big-screen television, demonstrating how the total cost is buried in the fine print and can be as much as three times the cash price.
Activists and ministers spoke briefly, calling Rent-a-Center “a high-priced corporate hustle,” and encouraging the community to boycott a business that “will not respect or encourage wealth building.”
Attendees at the protest included Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries.
After a prayer led by Reverend Cheryl Anthony, protestors marched to a second Rent-a-Center location only a few blocks away on Gates Avenue. There, they marched in a picket line, led on by a man with a bullhorn.
“Come on, everybody, come out of your apartments! It ain’t about us, it’s about everybody!”
“Rent-a-Center’s cheating you,” the crowd chanted. “Unfair practices!”
Taharka Robinson and Kirsten Foy then sat and blocked traffic in the middle of the road. As the photographers snapped them and the CW cameras rolled, the group engaged in prayer one last time before Robinson and Foy were arrested by the NYPD.
Bishop Eric R. Figueroa Sr. of Bed-Stuy’s New Life Tabernacle announced in front of a Rent-a-Center located on the corner of Bedford and Fulton in Bed-Stuy that they would “no longer allow these predatory lending practices” in the community.
Protestors held placards of a Rent-a-Center contract for a big-screen television, demonstrating how the total cost is buried in the fine print and can be as much as three times the cash price.
Activists and ministers spoke briefly, calling Rent-a-Center “a high-priced corporate hustle,” and encouraging the community to boycott a business that “will not respect or encourage wealth building.”
Attendees at the protest included Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries.
After a prayer led by Reverend Cheryl Anthony, protestors marched to a second Rent-a-Center location only a few blocks away on Gates Avenue. There, they marched in a picket line, led on by a man with a bullhorn.
“Come on, everybody, come out of your apartments! It ain’t about us, it’s about everybody!”
“Rent-a-Center’s cheating you,” the crowd chanted. “Unfair practices!”
Taharka Robinson and Kirsten Foy then sat and blocked traffic in the middle of the road. As the photographers snapped them and the CW cameras rolled, the group engaged in prayer one last time before Robinson and Foy were arrested by the NYPD.
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