Black business activity has been sustained in America for almost four centuries. From the marketing and trading activities of African slaves in Colonial America to the rise of 20th-century black corporate America, African American participation in self-employed economic activities has been a persistent theme in the black experience. Yet, unlike other topics in African American history, the study of black business has been limited. General reference sources on the black experience—with their emphasis on social, cultural, and political life—provide little information on topics related to the history of black business. This invaluable encyclopedia is the only reference source providing information on the broad range of topics that illuminate black business history. Providing readily accessible information on the black business experience, the encyclopedia provides an overview of black business activities, and underscores the existence of a historic tradition of black American business participation. Entries range from biographies of black business people to overview surveys of business activities from the 1600s to the 1990s, including slave and free black business activities and the Black Wallstreet to coverage of black women's business activities, and discussions of such African American specific industries as catering, funeral enterprises, insurance, and hair care and cosmetic products. Also, there are entries on blacks in the automotive parts industry, black investment banks, black companies listed on the stock market, blacks and corporate America, civil rights and black business, and black athletes and business activities.

The only reference source providing readily accessible information on the broad range of topics that illuminate black business history.

This two-volume set showcases the achievements of African American entrepreneurs and the various businesses that they founded, developed, or promote as well as the accomplishments of many African American leaders—both those whose work is well-known and other achievers who have been neglected in history. Nearly everyone is familiar with New York City's Wall Street, a financial center of the world, but much fewer individuals know about the black Wall Streets in Durham and Tulsa, where prominent examples of successful African American leaders emerged. Encyclopedia of African American Business: Updated and Revised Edition tells the fascinating story that is the history of African American business, providing readers with an inspiring image of the economic power of black people throughout their existence in the United States. It continues the historical account of developments in the African American business community and its leaders, describing the period from 18th-century America to the present day. The book describes current business leaders, opens a fuller and deeper insight into the topics chosen, and includes numerous statistical tables within the text and in a separate section at the back of the book. The encyclopedia is arranged under three broad headings: Entry List, Topical Entry List, and Africa American Business Leaders by Occupation. This arrangement introduces readers to the contents of the work and enables them to easily find information about specific individuals, topics, or occupations. The book will appeal to students from high school through graduate school as well as researchers, library directors, business enterprises, and anyone interested in biographical information on African Americas who are business leaders will benefit from the work.

Essays provide information the African American business community and African American business leaders in the United States, from the eighteenth century to the present day.

The story of African Americans in Kentucky is as diverse and vibrant as the state's general history. The work of more than 150 writers, The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia is an essential guide to the black experience in the Commonwealth. The encyclopedia includes biographical sketches of politicians and community leaders as well as pioneers in art, science, and industry. Kentucky's impact on the national scene is registered in an array of notable figures, such as writers William Wells Brown and bell hooks, reformers Bessie Lucas Allen and Shelby Lanier Jr., sports icons Muhammad Ali and Isaac Murphy, civil rights leaders Whitney Young Jr. and Georgia Powers, and entertainers Ernest Hogan, Helen Humes, and the Nappy Roots. Featuring entries on the individuals, events, places, organizations, movements, and institutions that have shaped the state's history since its origins, the volume also includes topical essays on the civil rights movement, Eastern Kentucky coalfields, business, education, and women. For researchers, students, and all who cherish local history, The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia is an indispensable reference that highlights the diversity of the state's culture and history.

In this wide-ranging study Stephen Foster explores Puritanism in England and America from its roots in the Elizabethan era to the end of the seventeenth century. Focusing on Puritanism as a cultural and political phenomenon as well as a religious movement, Foster addresses parallel developments on both sides of the Atlantic and firmly embeds New England Puritanism within its English context. He provides not only an elaborate critque of current interpretations of Puritan ideology but also an original and insightful portrayal of its dynamism. According to Foster, Puritanism represented a loose and incomplete alliance of progressive Protestants, lay and clerical, aristocratic and humble, who never decided whether they were the vanguard or the remnant. Indeed, in Foster's analysis, changes in New England Puritanism after the first decades of settlement did not indicate secularization and decline but instead were part of a pattern of change, conflict, and accomodation that had begun in England. He views the Puritans' own claims of declension as partisan propositions in an internal controversy as old as the Puritan movement itself. The result of these stresses and adaptations, he argues, was continued vitality in American Puritanism during the second half of the seventeenth century. Foster draws insights from a broad range of souces in England and America, including sermons, diaries, spiritual autobiographies, and colony, town, and court records. Moreover, his presentation of the history of the English and American Puritan movements in tandem brings out the fatal flaws of the former as well as the modest but essential strengths of the latter.

This comprehensive resource explores the past, the progress, and the present of African Americans in four volumes, each building, complementing, and expanding on the previous volume. - "Volume 1: 400 Years of Achievement" presents four centuries of noteworthy accomplishments through a fascinating mix of biographies--including more than 750 influential figures--little-known or misunderstood historical facts, and enlightening essays on significant legislation and movements. - "Volume 2: Notable Firsts" is an exhilarating listing of the accomplishments of black Americans in the arts, business, education, the military, medicine and science, and sports. - "Volume 3: Heroes and Heroines" is an eclectic mix of profiles of 150 well-known and lesser-known individuals who have made a lasting and profound impact on our culture. - "Volume 4: Civil Rights Feats and Facts" details the important people, places, and events of the black struggle for freedom.The Complete Encyclopedia of African American History showcases a legacy of pride, struggle, and triumph through consequential events and people, covering milestones and challenges met while highlighting the considerable contributions African Americans have made to the fabric of American society and culture. It provides insights on--and inspiration from--the influence and impact of African Americans on the United States in a broad range of endeavors from politics, education, religion, business, science, medicine, the military, sports, literature, music, dance, theater, art, film, television, and more.