Black Consumerism and Black Capitalism
Dr. Alvenia Fulton, Courtesy of the Chicago Defender
In the late 1960s “Black Consciousness movements . . . stimulated diverse creative and entrepreneurial impulses that were inherently political,” writes sociologist Clovis E. Semmes. Black consumerism and black capitalism converged, and black entrepreneurs like Dr. Alvenia Fulton helped folks outside the prison industrial complex with their intellectual capital and the products they sold that produced favorable results. Indirectly, Fulton’s rise to acclaim in Chicago had an impact on my family in Westchester County, New York. Sitting in the tower at Sing Sing Prison, my dad listened to countless hours of radio programming from comedian-turned-activist and food rebel Dick Gregory.
