Current trends in African American business history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Recent historiography and applications of the field

Over the past two decades, African American business history has developed into a genre of interdisciplinary interest with historiographical value as well as contemporary implication. This essay analyzes recent historiographical advancements and trends in African American business history of the long twentieth century, specifically a dozen works published over the past ten years. Three innovative methodologies have risen to distinction in the important and expanding field of African American business history: the historical exploration of contemporary inequities, biographies of exceptional but not peerless individuals, and local histories as case studies for broader historical application. While lauding these advancements, this essay concludes by encouraging investment of these methods in expanding historical understanding of African American business history in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly the economic and cultural contribution of black urbanites.