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?

[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?