Food Rebel J.T. Brown of Miami
Courtesy of Library of Congress
In 1914 National Negro Business League’s (NNBL) Ralph W. Tyler visited Miami Florida. He described it as a place where city officials used Jim Crow laws and customs to redline African Americans into districts where white entrepreneurs monopolized businesses such as grocery stores. In 1912 a Reverend Dr. J.T. Brown came to Miami to pastor a Baptist Church in the city. When he arrived, his congregation had 83 members; two years later it had 240 members and was growing. Since arriving in Miami Brown had a burning desire for better opportunities and treatment for members of his congregation. For example, he wanted the African Americans in his community to have equal employment opportunities in the grocery stores and other businesses that depended on black consumers. Brown also wanted store employees to treat black folk with respect. In his prayer life, research, and meditation he developed a plan for rebelling against the hostile white supremacist entrepreneurs who operated the stores and negotiating better store practices. Brown shared his plan which called for boycotting businesses until their owners agreed to radical changes. Eventually the targeted businesses loss too much money to survive. Discussions between the two sides resulted in white owners adding African American employees and managers to their staffs and improving the treatment of African American customers..
Tell others about this blog and share a link
