Sept. 4, 2025

How the Sears Outsmarted Jim Crow

Podchaser podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player iconSpreaker podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player iconRadioPublic podcast player icon

This book sold the same stove, suit, or pair of boots to anyone at the same printed price. When Rural Free Delivery brought it to the mailbox, the Sears, Roebuck catalog landed on Black families’ porches it turned shopping from a ritual of humiliation into something closer to dignity. Here’s how the Sears mail‑order catalog quietly beat Jim Crow
Audio Onemichistory.com
Follow me on Instagram: @onemic_history
Follow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/ 
Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_history
Please support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914
Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2m
Sources
https://www.abhmuseum.org/back-when-sears-made-black-customers-a-priority/ https://fee.org/articles/when-sears-used-the-market-to-combat-jim-crow/ https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/657923126/how-the-sears-catalog-was-revolutionary-in-the-jim-crow-era https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/19/18001734/sears-catalog-bankruptcy-jim-crow-racism-mail-order