How the Sears Catalog Outsmarted Jim Crow

[irisblue]

Almost 11 minute video from an AA historian

I do remember getting the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs

[tblue37]

1. K&R.

[twodogsbarking]

2. It was in outhouses throughout Appalachia. History.

[Heidi]

3. Kick!

[brer cat]

4. K&R

[Wuddles440]

5. Very Interesting!

Thanks for sharing.

[murielm99]

6. Thank you for this.

[Hekate]

7. This is a fantastic piece of American history, and I had no idea

Like the houses built from Sears-Roebuck kits that are still standing today, this is a legacy the founders can be proud of. Usually when I read someone say “follow the money” I hear cynicism — this time, I have a smile on my face.

Thanks, Irisblue!

[irisblue]

8. The things you can find on the internet at 4:15 am....

[Hekate]

9. Oh gods, don't I know it!

[msongs]

10. the day the catalog showed up in the mail was the first official day of christmas nt

[Coldwater]

11. Black First Names vs White First Names

I’m sure it also helped that our Christian names back then were race-neutral and essentially indistinguishable between white and black.

[JustAnotherGen]

12. What does that mean?

[70sEraVet]

17. I think Coldwater was simply implying that the postal system,

even on a local level, would have had a hard time interfering with deliveries to black residents. I didn't read it as a judgement against the use of african-sounding first names.

[irisblue]

13. Coldwater, are you implying that the rise of African inspired names , esp in the 70s

are a social issue/problem commercially?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_names#:~:text=The%20Afrocentrism%20movement%20that%20grew,show%20pride%20in%20their%20heritage.

Snip-"The Afrocentrism movement that grew in popularity during the 1970s saw the advent of African names among African-Americans, as well as names imagined to be "African-sounding". Names such as Ashanti have African origins.[9] The Black power movement inspired many to show pride in their heritage

[marble falls]

14. Are you sure you really want to go there? Maybe edit this post a bit.

[Torchlight]

15. What are race-neutral names, and what exactly did they help with?

[70sEraVet]

16. Julius Rosenwald, the President of Sears and Roebucks in the early 1900's,

used much of his personal fortune to make education available to blacks, especially in the Jim Crow South.

The rural school building program was one of the largest programs administered by the Rosenwald Fund. This program eventually was responsible for construction in the South of more than 5,000 schools and shops for African-American children, as well as homes for their teachers. These schools became informally known as "Rosenwald Schools".[19]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Rosenwald