Its primary objective was to promote the employment of African Americans by companies operating in black communities and support the growth of black-owned businesses.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described the core principle of Breadbasket as the belief that African Americans should not support businesses that denied them job opportunities, career advancement, or basic courtesy.
They organized pickets and encouraged boycotts of stores that carried products from the targeted companies, aiming to pressure them into improving their employment practices and support for the black community.
Internal conflicts and the burden of responsibility on Jackson and the new leaders following King's assassination eventually led to the termination of Operation Breadbasket in December 1971.
[5] Noah Robinson Jr., who had just graduated from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania, came to Chicago in 1969, to become full-time director of the Commercial Division of Operation Breadbasket.
Just moments before being assassinated, King had asked Branch to play a Negro spiritual, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," at a rally that was to have been held two hours later.
[6] Cannonball Adderley, in the introduction to the title track of his 1969 album Country Preacher, makes a specific mention of Branch in recognition of his work as leader of the Operation Breadbasket Orchestra and Choir.