Selected Presentations
Invited Presentation, ‟More Than Just A Game: The Economic Nuances of the Negro Baseball
Leagues,” Washington, DC Historical Society, September 2008.
Invited Panelist, ‟Race and Gender in Business, ‟ Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY. This
program was in conjunction with an exhibit entitled “The Real Pepsi Challenge: Breaking the
Color Barrier in American Business,” July 2008.
‟Richard Nixon’s Promotion of ‛Black Capitalism’ During The 1968 Presidential Election: A
Multi-Faceted Phenomenon,” Invited Presentation, Policy History Conference, St. Louis, MO,
May 2008.
Invited Session Discussant, ‟Entrepreneurial Communities in African American Business
History,” Business History Conference, Cleveland, OH, June 2007.
Invited Session Discussant, ‟The Political Economy of Black Enterprise,” Business History
Conference, Toronto, ON, June 2006.
‟The Democratic Party and ‛Black Capitalism’ During The Presidential Election of 1968,”
invited lecture, Eastern Illinois University, March 2006.
‟Business Development as a Form of African American Pro-activity,” invited lecture, Missouri
History Museum, St. Louis, MO, March 2006.
‟Foot-Soldiers for Corporate America: Hip Hop and the African American Consumer Market,”
invited presentation, Center for Black Business History, Entrepreneurship, Technology,
University of Texas-Austin, October 2005.
‟Prelude to ‛Black Capitalism’: Emmer Lancaster and the U.S. Commerce Department’s
‛Division of Negro Affairs,’ 1940-1953,” Association for the Study of African American Life
and History, Annual Conference, Buffalo, NY, October 2005.
‟The 1961 National Conference on Black Business: The ‛Negro Market,” the Cold War, and the
Future of Black Business in America,” Business History Conference, Minneapolis, MN, May,
2005.
‟Placing Black Community Development On The Government’s Agenda: ‛Black Capitalism’
and The Presidential Election of 1968,” Invited presentation, National Economic
Association/Allied Social Science Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January, 2005.
Invited Session Discussant, ‟Black Business in Missouri: Gender, Philanthropy, and Culture in
Kansas City and St. Louis,” 29th Annual Meeting of the Social Science History Association,
Chicago, IL, November, 2004.
Invited Session Discussant, ‟The Color of Money: The Politics of Black Entrepreneurship and
Consumerism Under Segregation,” 89th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of
African American Life and History, Pittsburgh, PA, September, 2004.
“Richard M. Nixon and ‘Black Capitalism’,” Invited presentation, Center for The Study of
Black Business History, Entrepreneurship, Technology, University of Texas-Austin, October,
2003
“The Myth of the Incompetent African and African American Businessman,” Invited
presentation, Africa Week 2002, University of Missouri-Columbia, April 2002.
“Black America During The 1920s: A Golden Age of Both Artistic and Business Achievement,”
Invited presentation, Black History Month, University of Missouri-Columbia, February 2002.
“The Cultivation of the African Consumer Market: A Manifestation of Economic NeoColonialism,” Invited Presentation, Africa Week 2001, University of Missouri-Columbia, April
2001
“Containing the Threat of Black Revolution: The National Response To Richard M. Nixon’s
‘Black Capitalism’ Initiative,” Invited presentation, Ohio University, Department of Political
Science Fall Lecture, October 2000.
“The Cold War and the Evolution of Richard Nixon’s ‘Black Capitalism’ Initiative,” Invited
presentation, University of Missouri-Columbia, February 2000.
“Where Did All Our Customers Go?: Historic Black-Owned Businesses and the African
American Consumer Market,” Invited presentation, International Conference on Black Business
in Africa and the United States, University of Texas at Arlington, November 1999.
“The End of Black Nationalism?: The Decline of African American Consumer Support of BlackOwned Businesses,” Invited presentation, Colloquium on Black Culture and Race Relations,
University of Nebraska-Omaha, May 1999.
“Marketing Ourselves To Ourselves: Strategies for African American Community Renewal in
the Twenty-first Century,” Invited luncheon presentation, 47th Annual Conference of the
National Alliance of Market Developers, Philadelphia, PA, April 1999.
"Whistling in the Graveyard?: The Response of Black-Owned Insurance Companies to their
Ongoing Decline in Contemporary America," Plenary session presentation, Association for the
Study of Afro-American Life and History, Annual Conference, October 1998.
"Twentieth-Century African American Consumerism," Invited lecture, Association for the Study
of Afro-American Life and History, (Kansas City chapter) February 1998.
"The Effect of Racial Desegregation on the African American Personal Care Products Industry,"
Invited lecture, University of Missouri-Rolla, February, 1998.
"Racial Desegregation and the Decline of Black Business in Contemporary America," Invited
lecture, Lincoln University (Missouri), February, 1998.
"Pushing All the Right Buttons: The Manipulation of African American Female Consumers
Since 1970," Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Annual Conference,
October 1997.
"The Rise and Fall of a Black Chicago Landmark: The Chicago Metropolitan Company
Building, 4455 S. King Drive," Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville conference on
"African Americans in the Land of Lincoln," April 1997.
"Out of the Shadows: Business History and African American Historiography," Hagley Museum
and Library's "Future of Business History" conference, Wilmington, DE, April 1997.
"Blaxploitation and Big Business: American Corporations and Black Consumers During the
1970s," Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Annual Conference,
October 1995.
"The Decline of African-American Insurance Companies in Contemporary America," Phi Alpha
Theta Luncheon Lecture, Annual Meeting of the Organization of American Historians, April
1994.
"Historic African-American Entrepreneurs: A New Perspective," Phi Alpha Theta (International
History Honorary Society) Biennial Convention, December 1993.
"A Blueprint For African-American Economic Development," Association for the Study of AfroAmerican Life and History, Annual Convention, October 1993.
"Consumption and Civil Rights: American Corporations and Black Consumers During The
1960s," Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists, Annual Conference, March 1993.
"Corporate America and Black Consumers During The 1960s: How Big Business Sought To
Profit From The Civil Rights Movement," Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and
History, Annual Convention, October 1992.
"Examining The Activities of Historic Black-Owned Businesses: A Neglected Aspect of
African-American History," Phi Alpha Theta Black History Month Lecture, University of
Missouri-Columbia, February 1992.
"How Corporate America Profited From The Civil Rights Movement," Invited Presentation,
Social Science Lecture Series, Northeast Missouri State University, April 1991.
"The Chicago Metropolitan Mutual Assurance Company: A Historical Profile," Black and
Minority Economic Development Conference, Ohio State University, May 1990.
"The Need For An African-American Economic Agenda," The Benjamin Banneker Honors
College, Prairie View A & M University, November 1989.
"Black Insurance Companies: A Historical Perspective," Howard University Conference On
Managerial and Financial Characteristics of Minority Financial Institutions, February 1987.