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The NAACP called Friday afternoon for a nationwide economic boycott of North Carolina over its so-called “bathroom bill,” WBTV reports.

According to the Associated Press, the civil right organization urged religious conferences, athletic events and musicians to bypass North Carolina to voice opposition to the state’s policies toward the LGBT community.

Earlier, USA Today said NAACP President and CEO Cornell Brooks and state president, the Rev. William Barber, planned to hold a press conference Friday in front of the state General Assembly building in Raleigh to discuss a new task force that will oversee the boycott.

The bathroom bill, or HB2, mandates that people must use public restrooms that correspond with the gender indicated on their birth certificate. An attempt to overturn the measure failed in December.

Passage of the law ignited widespread outrage. Several companies, including Google and Apple, opposed the ban, as well as big-name entertainers and professional sports franchises. Forbes estimated that North Carolina will lose at least $650 million in revenue.

Barber urged the national NAACP in December to join the boycott against North Carolina when the state legislature failed to repeal the law, the Huffington Post reported.

The minister has been at the forefront of an effort to convince Blacks who oppose gay rights that the measure is similar to segregation-era laws, according to the Washington Post.

“This is not about bathrooms,” Barber told the Washington Post. “It’s about whether or not you can codify hate and discrimination into the laws of the state.”

SOURCE:  WBTV, Associated Press, USA TodayForbes, Huffington Post, Washington Post

SEE ALSO:

North Carolina & DOJ Sue Each Other Over Bathroom Bill

Backlash Against North Carolina’s Bathroom Bill & Mississippi’s Religious Freedom Law Increases

NAACP Announces Strategy For North Carolina Economic Boycott  was originally published on newsone.com