How The Sears Catalog Was Revolutionary In The Jim Crow Era

"When I was a little girl, I spent hours poring over the Sears catalog. I had my eye on a Holly Hobbie Oven. And aside from the fact that you could bake real cakes in it, what I loved about shopping from the Sears catalog was nobody knew I was a kid. I could browse at my own pace - no shop assistant ignoring me or talking over my head to my parents.

It turns out that feeling, the ability to shop without being judged, resonated in a different, more profound way for black Americans in the Jim Crow era. Cornell historian Louis Hyman argues the Sears catalog was radical in its day because it allowed black Americans to have the same shopping experience as whites. He's been pondering that legacy in light of this week's news that Sears has filed for bankruptcy".