Connecting you with the University of Missouri’s innovative research and creative activityThe Economics of Race
A visit with Robert Weems, Professor, History Department
Published: October 05, 2006 - Topics:
history,
black_capitalism,
Nixon,
economics,
African_American,
Additional Interview Clips
Weems’ current research project
What primary research looks like for a historian
Drawing on secondary historical literature
The African-American Experience: An Historiographical and Bibliographic Guide (2001)
Desegregating the Dollar: How white corporate America profited from desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement
Practical applications for understanding history: Weems’ recent work
The need for further national discussion about stimulating black economic development today
The personal motivation for Weems’ research
Weems’ personal background and advice to graduate students
Why are black businesses disappearing from America’s landscape? The economic dimension of desegregation
Topics:
black_economic_development,
black_business,
The fate of black economic development in Columbia, Missouri, represents a microcosm of national trends. “For a variety of social and economic reasons,” Weems observes, “we literally see black businesses disappearing from the landscape of America.” Looking at the economic dimension of desegregation reveals a bitter irony that has animated much of Weems’ work. As a result of so-called desegregation, “on one level, we see white companies making great inroads among the African-American consumers,” he explains. “But we don’t see black companies being able to make similar inroads in the mainstream community.” In economic terms, this one-way situation is not true desegregation.