Everything Everywhere Daily · Sunday, August 9, 2026
Catalogs from companies like Sears and Montgomery Ward provided a rare form of economic equality for Black Americans living under Jim Crow laws. Historian Louis Hyman noted that catalogs allowed families to purchase goods without seeking permission, offering a choice and reducing the power of local storekeepers.
“For Black Americans living under Jim Crow, buying through a catalog offered a rare form of economic equality.”
“The catalog undid the power of the storekeeper, the landlord, and by extension, the Rachely marked consumerism of Jim Crow.”
“All of a sudden, Black families could buy whatever they wanted without asking permission.”