Black-Owned Businesses in the South, 1790–1880

Abstract

This essay analyzes the changing configuration of black-owned businesses in the South over nearly a century. It divides the region into two sections—the Lower South and the Upper South—and examines changes that occurred prior to 1840, during the late antebellum era, and as a result of the Civil War. It uses a “wealth model” to define various business groups, and then creates business occupational categories based on the listings in various sources, including the U.S. censuses for 1850, 1860, and 1870. The article compares and contrasts the wealth holdings among various groups of blacks in business, and it analyzes, within a comparative framework, slave entrepreneurship, rural vs. urban business activity, color—black or mulatto—as a variable in business ownership, and slave ownership among blacks engaged in business.

Color Crit: Critical Race Theory and the History and Future of Colorism in the United States

“…Mulattos were advantaged relative to “regular” Black people in a number of arenas. They had more wealth (Bodenhorn & Ruebeck, 2007), more successful businesses (Schweninger, 1989, 1999), better jobs (Gullickson, 2010; Saperstein & Gullickson, 2013), they lived longer (Green & Hamilton, 2013), they had bigger families (Frazier, 1933), and during slavery they were more likely to be manumitted (Bodenhorn, 2011). Disproportionate manumission created stark differences in the color of slaves and the free Black population.…”

Genesis of U.S. Colorism and Skin Tone Stratification: Slavery, Freedom, and Mulatto-Black Occupational Inequality in the Late 19th Century

“…Mulattos were bolstered through preferential treatment from White people (Frazier, 1930; Reuter, 1917; Toplin, 1979). Because of their presumed White blood, White people generally perceived Mulattos as smarter, more attractive, more industrious, and less deviant than Blacks (Berlin, 1974; Bodenhorn, 2006; Frazier, 1930; Reuter, 1917; Schweninger, 1989, 1990; Toplin, 1979). In some cases, White people even perceived Mulattos as more closely allied with White people than their Black counterparts, as evident in a legislative report on a planned slave revolt in the early 1820s: Free mulattos are a barrier between our own color and that of the black and in cases of insurrection are more likely to enlist themselves under the banners of the whites .…”

“…In some places, the Mulatto free population so greatly contrasted the Black slave population “free black” and “mulatto” almost became synonymous (Berlin, 1974). Moreover, Mulattos leveraged their racial ancestry into economic favor from White people, which allowed them to capitalize on their freedom (Bodenhorn, 2011; Schweninger, 1989). The manumitted children of slave–slave owner sexual liaisons were often given a financial head start by their White parent upon entering free society or were able to use their White parent’s social networks to gain economic advantages.…”

“…The manumitted children of slave–slave owner sexual liaisons were often given a financial head start by their White parent upon entering free society or were able to use their White parent’s social networks to gain economic advantages. As a result, Mulattos were disproportionately represented among prosperous freedmen and business owning freedmen (Schweninger, 1989, 1990) and held significantly more wealth than Blacks. In 1860, Mulatto wealth was 50% of White wealth while Black wealth was only 20% of that of Whites (Bodenhorn & Ruebeck, 2007).…”

“…In the case of Mulattos, a stronger local history of slavery may have left them with more connections to powerful Whites because of parental ties or other extended kin networks. Free Mulattos were able to leverage ties to Whites for economic gain and the Mulatto children of slave owners were often afforded a significant amount of freedom on plantations (Frazier, 1930; Schweninger, 1989, 1990). These ties may have allowed them to further distance themselves from their Black counterparts in the postbellum period.…”