In order to combat gentrification in Harlem, a pastor is calling for a “drought” of corporate developments from river to river.

In response to recent property purchases in Harlem, residents have continued efforts to fight changes in the commercial landscape of the area. Among these, the “No Dew, Nor Rain” boycott, launched by Dr. James David Manning of the ATLAH World Missionary Church in Harlem, is perhaps the most ambitious. The boycott calls for a complete lack of consumption and spending in Harlem for a total of three years, in the area between 110th and 155th Streets, from river to river.

“Harlem is our Mecca, the one place all African Americans in the world know, and gentrification is threatening to remove this identification,” said Manning, who has lived and actively participated as a pastor in Harlem for the past 25 years. “We want it [Harlem] back and we’re stopping at nothing to get it back.”

Called “No Dew, Nor Rain,” the boycott alludes to the drought used to combat political corruption in Israel over 3,000 years ago, as described in I Kings 17:1. Manning hopes to achieve an effect similar to that of the biblical drought—the drying-out of all businesses within this designated area in order to cleanse Harlem of what he calls its “economic devastation.”

The boycott is based on Manning’s belief that the displacement of indigenous Harlem businesses, and their replacement with national chains, can be combatted through economic resistance.

“The one thing we understand is economics, and the one weapon we have left is economics,” said Manning. “If we attack the financial well-being of the corporations, if we can shut down KFC, that will be power and after these three years, we will have a new Black America. We’re targeting everyone who is collecting a dollar, from the vendors on the street corner to Chase.”

Manning’s boycott on Harlem exempts some businesses deemed necessary for daily life, such as private schools, laundromats, beauty salons, and barbershops. The boycott requires these businesses to clearly demonstrate their “drought support” of the boycott through the display of the “No Dew, Nor Rain” sign, said Manning. Such official guidelines are compiled in a 23-page booklet titled “How to No Dew, Nor Rain.”

Manning claimed he has found genuine enthusiasm about the boycott, citing Harlem’s Record Shack, a well-known business that has served the community for over 30 years, as one of his supporting businesses.

Still, other individuals within the drought area have been more skeptical of “No Dew, Nor Rain.”

“I’ve never even heard of it,” said Jim, manager of Janoff’s Typewriter & Stationery on Broadway, and two-year resident of 125th Street. “But I can’t even see the boycott being realistic.”

Stephanie Shih can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.