WASHINGTON,  December 17, 2011 (WAFA)– Arab Americans called for mass protests and boycott of a major United States department store for what they described as bigotry and hatred by the store, according to a press release issued Friday by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

“This weekend people across the country will be standing up against bigotry and hatred as the ‘Boycott Lowe's’ campaign goes from tweets to the streets,” said the statement.

ADC, which endorsed the “Boycott Lowe's' campaign, organized by the National Lowe’s Boycott Network, called on members across the US “to get involved with the campaign and make their voices heard.”

“Organized protests in front of Lowe's locations across the country are only a start of many actions targeted at fighting bigotry and hate,” it said.

The National Lowe’s Boycott Network is a grassroots effort and campaign started by activists across the country in wake of the Lowe's decision to pull advertising from the TLC show “All-American Muslim,” when it succumbed to pressure from the Florida Family Association's bigoted campaign.

Those involved in the Network come from a broad spectrum of religious, ethnic and professional backgrounds who stand against hate and bigotry, said ADC.

Last week, ADC strongly condemned statements by US presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich who called the Palestinian people an “invented people” and 'terrorists.'

ADC expressed the outrage of its members as well as hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Americans and Arab Americans and discredited Gingrich’s “outrageous claims.”

M.S.