Celebrities appeal for boycott of Black Friday

US celebrities called for a boycott on Friday - one of the country's busiest shopping days - to protest a grand jury's decision not to prosecute the police officer who fatally shot black teenager Michael Brown.

A number of well-known figures, including hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, have backed the action, under the Twitter hashtags #NotOneDime and #BlackoutBlackFriday.

The boycott was prompted by widespread outrage after the jury on Monday decided against indicting the white police officer who killed 18-year-old Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August. Protests erupted across the United States after the announcement.

"We have the power to change our nation. Stand up with @UnitedBlackout on #BlackoutBlackFriday," tweeted one of the supporters, actress Kat Graham, who stars in TV series The Vampire Diaries.

Also backing the campaign is actor Jesse Williams, while journalist Soledad O'Brien retweeted a message with the hashtag #NotOneDime.

"No Just, No Profit. Corporate/public power only speaks $. So let's talk to 'em," Grey's Anatomy star Williams tweeted.

Black Friday is a day of frenzied shopping that takes place after the Thursday Thanksgiving holiday.

(China Daily 11/28/2014 page12)