Acquiring “A Piece of the Action”: The Rise and Fall of the Black Capitalism Movement

In this paper, I investigate the national black capitalism movement from 1965-1974. This black power movement stimulated a groundswell of black business activity, rejuvenated “buy black” campaigns, prompted governmental, black organizational, and white corporate support for black business, and urged for community-owned enterprises and an independent black economy. It was galvanized by grassroots activism and federal government support, primarily by the Nixon Administration. Proponents asserted that it put unprecedented autonomy into the hands of African American entrepreneurs and the communities they empowered, but critics warned that black capitalism was a cooptation of the black power values. The withdrawal of federal support and the recession of the 1970s undermined the black capitalism movement and eventually led to its downfall.