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Georgia State University

Black History Month: African American Business Enterprises

In the introduction to her Encyclopedia of African American Business History, Juliet Walker observes that…

“…full freedom from racism and complete equality for the descendants of former slaves have yet to be obtained. Yet, in their continuing search for freedom, the agency of blacks in forging their own economic liberation through business activities and entrepreneurship has had a long tradition” (p. xii).

Below are books from the Georgia State Library that highlight some of the African American business activities to which she was referring.

Boston, M. B. (2010). The business strategy of Booker T. Washington: Its development and implementation.Knights of the Razor: Black barbers in slavery and freedom.

Bristol, D. W. (2009). Knights of the razor: Black barbers in slavery and freedom.

Dingle, D. T. (1999). Black enterprise titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs who redefined and conquered American business.

Gill, T. M. (2010). Beauty shop politics: African American women’s activism in the beauty industry.

Hill, L. W., & Rabig, J. (2012). The business of Black power: Community development, capitalism, and corporate responsibility in postwar America.

Lomax, M. E., & ebrary, I. (2014). Black baseball entrepreneurs, 1902-1931: The Negro national and Eastern Colored leagues.

Mills, Q. T. (2013). Cutting along the color line: Black barbers and barber shops in America.

Entrepreneurial Spirit of African American InventorsSluby, P. C. (2011). The entrepreneurial spirit of African American inventors.

Smith, J. C., Jackson, M. L., & Wynn, L. T. (2006). Encyclopedia of African American business.

Walker, J. E. K. (1999). Encyclopedia of African American business history.

Walker, J. E. K. (2009). The history of Black business in America: Capitalism, race, entrepreneurship.

Weems, R. E., & Randolph, L. A. (2009). Business in black and white: American presidents & Black entrepreneurs in the twentieth century.