Black Retail Enterprise and Racial Segregation in Northern Cities before the “Ghetto”

Abstract

Past research indicates that black entrepreneurship in northern cities was unaffected by residential segregation by race until after the formation of the “ghetto.” In the present study, however, an analysis of Census data shows that in the urban North during the late nineteenth century, the residential segregation of blacks was positively associated with blacks' shopkeeping ratio, a measure of the extent to which black retail entrepreneurs were merchants rather than peddlers. This finding accords with the theory that ethnic businesses are often supported by the residential segregation of group members. Moreover, it implies that black merchants in northern cities may have been bolstered by business ownership opportunities created by a socially and spatially segregated market of black consumers much earlier than previously believed.