When thinking about Jim Crow laws and how they fought to keep racial segregation in the south, I did not take into consideration that other groups besides the African Americans would be fighting against them. My mind automatically thought of the African Americans that would rally against the law and not to other white people, or even businesses, who would fight. An article posted a couple weeks ago by The Washington Post titled “Sears’s ‘radical’ past: How mail-order catalogues subverted the racial hierarchy of Jim Crow” opened my mind to see that other people fought against those unjust laws as well.

Within this article, I learned about how the catalogues Sears released, primarily the 322 page one released in 1894, was seen as a radical act during this era of Jim Crow. The Rural Free Delivery Act allowed Sears to reach communities in the south and be able to send them catalogues. This gave the opportunity for people who weren’t as literate to fill out order forms that would be sent through and processed no matter what the format looked like. These forms allowed anonymity for the customers, especially African Americans, by not having to go in to face racist treatment from storeowners and instead, being allowed to purchase however many goods they want no matter the color of their skin. This way, the playing field was leveled for all races by ensuring they would be treated the same way. If an African American were to go into a retail, grocery, or any type of store, they would have to wait until all the white customers purchased the goods they wanted first and only be given the leftovers/lower quality goods. However, with the catalogues Sears provided, African Americans were able to buy the same goods white people had.

(image from age fotostock and Marketplace)

One of the part owners of Sears, Julius Rosenwald, became a philanthropist for black communities. He donated millions of dollars to build schools for African Americans to attend and earn a fair shot at learning, since the new schools would omit racial discrimination when teaching. Rosenwald wanted African Americans to have the same opportunities at a better life that white people have. Rosenwald helped fund financial support, as well as helped fund YMCA’s and YWCA’s for African Americans. Sears was able to give African Americans something white people took away from them, their dignity.

The Sears catalogue, in a way, was a beacon of hope for African Americans during the time of Jim Crow laws to show that not everyone wanted to keep the racial segregation that the south imposed. The most prominent “Big Idea” from our course within the Sears article is business, state, and society. We are able to see how a business, Sears, can capitalize on the south’s Jim Crow laws by passing their own, the Rural Free Delivery Act, that allows their business to reach the African Americans the south is trying to suppress. Sears is undermining the state in attempt to give the African Americans a society in which they can be seen as equals, even if it is in something as small as ordering clothes or supplies from a catalogue that allows everyone to be treated equally. Also, Julius Rosenwald is defying the norms of how white people are supposed to act toward African Americans by trying his hardest to give them the society they deserve, one of equality. Businesses, such as Sears, have the ability to go head to head against the state or society and fight for the change they believe in. It only takes the defiance of one, whether it be one business, one state, or one society, to give others the courage to stand up as well to fight for what they want.

Through looking at the actions of Sears during the late 19^thcentury, we are able to see that a small act of defiance against the Jim Crow laws by Sears can go a long way. They were able to give African Americans the opportunity to be treated the way the state should have. Businesses have the ability to change society for the better if they just choose to act, the way Sears did.