05/25/2026
The experience of one black entrepreneur, S. B. Fuller, illustrates how these issues affect black business. S. B. Fuller: A Black Manufacturer Emerges from the Great Depression, Race and the Reproduction of the Ethnic Beauty Aids Industry:
Fuller entered the ethnic beauty aids industry toward the end of the Great Depression, a time when many of his predecessors were facing insolvency. Yet, the vacuum the depression created in the ethnic beauty aids industry opened opportunities for young entrepreneurs like Fuller. Similar to the black entrepreneurs who preceded him, Fuller had humble beginnings. He was born on a farm in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, on June 15, 1905. (51) Fuller had a limited formal education, leaving school after the sixth grade. However, he continued to learn about business through work. He had his first job in door-to-door sales at nine years old, and, with his mother's encouragement, he continued to develop his business skills with the ultimate goal of running his own firm. (52) When he was fifteen, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and two years later, his mother died, leaving Fuller responsible for the care of his six brothers and sisters. Fuller continued to take odd jobs and pursue his business goals after his mother's death. However, the opportunity to realize this dream did not arise until later, when he moved to Chicago.
In 1928, Fuller hitchhiked to Chicago and found temporary work at a coal yard. (53) In 1930, he found a new job selling insurance for the Commonwealth Burial Association Insurance Company. He was successful, even during the early years of the depression, and in 1934, he was promoted to manager. However, Fuller was unsettled in this position and ultimately left. He came to this decision for a variety of reasons, but broad economic forces were the strongest. The depression was creating instability in the banking and insurance industry during this time, and a shrinking pool of banking and insurance customers, along with the daily uncertainty it caused, made any additional income attractive. In this uncertain environment, Fuller discovered a new business to enter, selling soap door-to-door.
In 1935, Fuller acquired $ 25 in capital and used it to finance his new business. Fuller later reflected on the windfall that launched his business: "That $25 was really all the money I had to my name," Fuller said. "And I had that much because I went and had my car refinanced, and they gave me $25 in what they said was some earned interest. I was happy to get it, and I wanted to use the money to do something that could do my family and me some good."(54) Fuller did just that, turning his initial investment in a relatively unknown stock of powders, face creams, and lotions into a seemingly endless stream of profits. In just a year, he had saved enough money to establish the Fuller Products Company at 3441 South Indiana Avenue, in the Chicago Defender Building. (55) In 1939, Fuller Products relocated to a larger facility, a factory at 2700 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, where the company remained for several years. (56) However, Fuller faced several obstacles to business success, many related to race. In fact, like other Black Americans, Fuller found it difficult to obtain loans from mainstream banks to finance his business ventures, so he relied on funds raised in the Black community. This repeatedly hampered his company's development. Fuller's success stemmed from adopting some of the same business strategies as his predecessors. For instance, Fuller adopted the door-to-door sales strategy, and it worked. Regular contact with black barbers and beauticians increased the visibility of Fuller's company in the black community. This strategy allowed him to minimize conflicts with white retailers over access to shelf space, and the door-to-door strategy enabled him to identify areas with demand for a new product.
Also, due to the racial climate, efforts were made to integrate Fuller Products' workforce. After acquiring his manufacturing facility on Wabash Avenue, Fuller retained the white employees who worked there. This rare and delicate situation, whites working for a black man, was beneficial to Fuller. In part, this was true because the arrangement provided Fuller with a skilled white staff who could transfer their knowledge to black employees later hired. However, the retention of white employees also served a public relations function, since some whites were suspicious of the business practices of black entrepreneurs.
The Limits of Leadership in a Racially Charged Environment: In fact, Fuller became a visible leader in the black community as his business expanded. From 1941 to 1946, he served as the president of the Chicago Negro Chamber of Commerce and received several awards from black organizations. (57) Fuller's most notable stride in business came in 1947, when he acquired Boyer International Laboratories, a white cosmetics firm. With this acquisition, Fuller had achieved what many black entrepreneurs could not. He had established himself in the mainstream economy. Boyer International manufactured Jean Nadal Cosmetics and H. A. Hair Arrangers, product lines distributed widely to white consumers in the South. Nevertheless, this acquisition was not widely publicized, since a black man buying a white company in the South had the potential of generating controversy. So, Fuller made a business decision and purchased the company clandestinely. He later reflected on this takeover in an interview in the Chicago Tribune: "The sale was handled quietly and not many people knew the person who bought the company was a black man. The owner had some trouble and wanted to sell it. I wanted to grow, and I was able to buy Boyer."(58) As it grew, Fuller Products gained notoriety. Keller's success gave him access to privileges that other black entrepreneurs had been denied. Shortly after purchasing Boyer International, Fuller became the first black member of the National Association of Manufacturers and also maintained membership in several small regional business organizations. Fuller developed a firm belief in the boundless nature of opportunities available to black Americans. He was confident in the future and believed in the "American dream," and like many Americans he found the brewing social unrest in the country over civil rights to be disconcerting. After all, Fuller judged the grievances of the emerging civil rights movement in sharp contrast to the future he saw unfolding for himself. In 1956, a year after Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Fuller held a convention in Chicago to announce his plans to build his business into a $100 million concern within ten years. At the convention dinner, Fuller was outspoken; his tone was vividly captured in a story that ran in the ANP.
The story described how Fuller openly opposed the comments made by speakers on the after-dinner program. He took issue with their calls for legislative remedies to racial discrimination. As the ANP reported, Fuller tossed aside his prepared speech and gave a description of his own controversial philosophy on race relations. It drew cheers and applause from some of his audience and groans from others. "I am opposed to this thing of passing laws to help colored people," said Fuller. "Colored people need to help themselves. I am not afraid of the people in Tennessee or Alabama. I would not let any of them dislike me, because I would plunge right in and sell myself to them. That's what the Negro should do all over the South."(59) Fuller went on to recommend that blacks who were denied the right to vote in the South should simply approach hostile whites and "sell people on their right to vote."(60) He continued with this line of reasoning: "Colored People in America must stop assuming and start selling. Colored people can start any kind of corporation that anyone else can start. Let them go into business." "No one can keep colored people from getting an education if they want it bad enough. I have often wondered just why we have to go to school with white children? I never had a chance. I did not go to the sixth grade." "The reason for this little misunderstanding down South is that the people down there are Christian. They have been engaged all these years in selling themselves on the idea that Negroes are inferior. If they ever stopped believing Negroes are inferior to them, they could not keep up their attitudes because it would violate the Golden Rule they are taught in their religion."(61) Several elements of Fuller's personal background came together to form his ideology: he was an ordained minister, he grew up in the South during de jure legal segregation, and above all he was a businessman. These elements blended into a worldview that combined a strong sense of the entrepreneurial spirit with an equal amount of faith in the ability of whites to use reason when confronted with issues of race. Fuller's beliefs were based on an individualistic ideology which was in sharp contrast to the idea of group mobilization that was growing around the issue of civil rights.
White Racists, Black Businessmen and Black Power at Odds: Ironically, the downfall of Fuller Products can be attributed to confrontations between Fuller and large organized groups. In a strange way these confrontations tested his belief in selling both his products and himself. But at the time, Fuller could only see a bright future for his company and race relations. After all, in 1956 Fuller's company had sales of over $18 million, employed over 5,000 salespeople (one-third of whom were white), and sold over 300 products. (62) Amazingly, the company was still growing and diversifying. Fuller went on to acquire the Pittsburgh Courier Publishing Company, publisher of the New York Age and the Pittsburgh Courier, two of the nation's most prominent black newspapers. (63) He also invested heavily in real estate. He purchased the Regal Theater in Chicago, a center for black entertainment, and he owned several smaller businesses in the black community.
Fuller used his network of businesses and investments to promote his products, himself, and his ideology. For example, the Pittsburgh Courier often ran stories about Fuller. In a typical article, Fuller was quoted, boasting about the two issues he gained notoriety for, business and race relations: Here I am, world; I can match you! I have a God-given gift. I employ more Negroes and know more about them than any Negro in the country. I feel I am here to protect and employ them. To this end have I dedicated my life, and herein lies both my happiness and my love. (64) The article went on to elaborate on Fuller's business accomplishments, his home in suburban Chicago, and, of course, his ideology based on his belief in self-help. Increasingly, Fuller returned to the issue of civil rights: "I have always felt, and I still say, that the salvation of the Negro lies in the Negro himself," Fuller reminisced. "The sit-ins, stand-ins, move-ins. . . " You name it," he continued, "all might be fine. But what do they accomplish? The important thing is for us to do, as Negroes, is to appraise ourselves; acknowledge the truth and improve ourselves."
The prominent industrialist maintains that if half the money Negroes are now donating to what they call civil rights causes were diverted into established Negro businesses... thereby providing jobs for other Negroes, we would not only solve the relief problem, but we would gain a maximum of respect.(65) Ironically, Fuller made these statements after he had come under attack by the White Citizens' Council, a white supremacist group in the South.(66) The White Citizens' Council organized a boycott of Boyer International in retaliation for similar boycotts staged by blacks in the South. In response, southern store owners pulled Fuller's products off of their shelves, sales of Jean Nadal and H. A. Hair Arranger dropped, and Fuller was forced to sell off the Boyer lines. This was devastating, because at the time, 60 percent of Fuller's sales were to whites through the Boyer lines in the South. However, Fuller stuck to his values stating that he had, "always believed that black producers should sell to white customers, the same way whites sell to blacks."(67) He went on to say, "If there hadn't been racial problems, we would be well over the $100 million mark."(68) The boycott by the White Citizens' Council heightened Fuller's sensitivity to some issues concerning race. His business decisions were influenced by the knowledge that whites scrutinized black businesses.
This is illustrated in a comment made by Fuller in a 1963 interview in U.S. News & World Report: Here, in our organization, the white people are very sensitive about being treated as inferior in our organization. They are more concerned about discrimination than the Negroes are. One thing I find in my organization is this: If I don't watch very closely, the Negro bosses here will discriminate and hire all Negroes and no whites. I'm constantly watching them to see that they hire people on their merit and not on the color of their skin. (69) Fuller's experience with the boycott created a desire to be free of scrutiny from whites, and this compromised his credibility in the black community on issues concerning racial discrimination. Fuller made several efforts to distance himself from the civil rights movement. He articulated a position that the civil rights movement was misguided and that it reinforced the notion of blacks as second class citizens. Fuller's statements enraged many blacks who saw him as an apologist, or an "Uncle Tom." Fuller's response to these accusations was fiery, "No Negro Calls me an 'Uncle Tom.' He can't call me 'Uncle Tom' because I employ white people. And 'Uncle Tom' never employed any white people."(70) Tensions between Fuller and civil rights advocates came to a head in late 1963, over a speech he delivered to the National Association of Manufacturers. In this speech, he stated that, "a lack of understanding and not racial barriers was keeping blacks from making progress."(71)
This was a reiteration of Fuller's earlier comments, but he was increasingly reaching a mainstream audience. When Fuller was making these statements to a predominantly black audience, it was perceived as a healthy dialogue in the black community, but the possibility that his statements would somehow undermine efforts to expand civil rights prompted a strong response from black organizations. Fuller Products was targeted for a consumer boycott, but this time it was organized by black Americans. Fuller never understood why blacks chose to boycott his products. He believed his message had been misinterpreted. In all fairness, Fuller probably thought that his belief that the black community was suffering from economic deprivation, which could only be addressed by developing internal resources, was the central concern of his people.
This was the perspective of Fuller and other black entrepreneurs who preceded him. It reflected their experiences, their sense of the world, and the views of their upper-middle-class peers. Unfortunately, Fuller's opinions were not shared by black members of other social strata. His inability to defer to these individuals and to understand that they did not share his experience as an entrepreneur was instrumental in Fuller's undoing. Fuller's clashes with the White Citizens' Council and civil rights advocates had devastating effects on his business. Still, his inability to weather these attacks was a reflection of deeper institutional forces that undermine all black-owned businesses in minority markets. In fact, the boycott of Fuller Products by black consumers occurred during a period of growing tension between black and white America, signaling a broader shift in the racial climate in mainstream society. This same atmosphere of racism and racial discrimination precipitated confrontations at the parochial level between black consumers and immigrant merchants during the 1960's. For instance, the Watts Riot in Los Angeles occurred after the police killed a black motorist, although at the parochial level, it resulted in conflicts between blacks and Jewish merchants. (72) Similarly, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 resulted in the looting of Jewish-owned stores in several black neighborhoods around the country. (73) Thus, in Chicago Jewish-owned businesses were damaged due to extensive looting and arson where "several blocks on Madison and Roosevelt were completely flattened, resembling more of an open plain than the aftermath of a riot."(74) The demise of Fuller Products was a result of the endemic problem that this racial climate had historically produced for black entrepreneurs, particularly when trying to gain access to credit and mainstream markets.
In fact, this became apparent after the boycotts' immediate effects had passed, and Fuller attempted to reorganize his company. Fuller structured a deal to sell Boyer International to a white buyer in New York City, and he used the proceeds of the sale and a bank loan they secured to finance a new project, the Fuller Department Store in Chicago. With the acquisition of a department store, Fuller believed he could make his business more resilient and flexible. Door-to-door sales could be used strategically to reach new customers, while a single store in a fixed, centralized location could maintain established markets. Fuller would receive an additional benefit from owning his department store: a reduced risk of sales being damaged by boycotts or by white merchants pulling products from their shelves. But financial constraints put the Fuller Department Store out of business.
Shortly after Fuller used the proceeds from the sale of Boyer International to leverage the purchase of the Fuller Department Store, the buyer in New York backed out of the deal, leaving Fuller in debt. To make matters worse, Fuller had been extending credit to welfare recipients. This created a confrontation with the Social Service Administration in Chicago. (75) The Fuller Department Store had established a policy where welfare recipients could purchase up to $100 worth of goods for $30 down. The Social Service Administration publicly urged its clients not to honor these debts with Fuller. As a result, these consumers stopped making payments, leaving Fuller with over $1 million in uncollectible debts. Because of these setbacks, Fuller Products declared bankruptcy in 1968 and sold off most of its real estate and newspaper holdings. (76) Fuller was left with his cosmetics and toiletries lines. Bankrupt, in debt, and with little capital, Fuller refocused on the old formula, door-to-door sales. At this point, Fuller was relegated to a minor position in the business world. However, he remained active in Chicago's black business community until he died in 1988. (77) From the Civil Rights Movement to the Global Economy, Corporate America Raids the South Side.
The Growing Influence of Outsiders in Black America: Fuller was like many of the black entrepreneurs who preceded him. His company experienced rapid growth due to its unique position in the minority market; however, it could never leap from a medium-sized firm to a corporate giant. Social barriers, institutional barriers, and outright racism thwarted attempts to move into the mainstream economy. Yet the need for Fuller's company to grow remained ever-present, as large mainstream competitors encroached on his market. In fact, black entrepreneurs found their ability to compete economically diminishing at all levels in minority markets during this period. For instance, in retailing, black entrepreneurs historically faced stiff competition from better-capitalized corporate and Jewish merchants. In the early 1970's, they also began to be crowded out of the market by Korean merchants in the black community.
Although Jewish merchants were beginning to retreat from the black community during this period, blacks were blocked from participating in ethnic succession by the growing presence of a better-financed group of Korean merchants. However, these conditions at the parochial level mirrored growing inequalities between black manufacturers and larger white-owned conglomerates, where the true struggle for control of the ethnic beauty aids industry unfolded. However, black manufacturers were at a greater disadvantage as time passed, since the costs of doing business were increasing as white-owned conglomerates invested more time and resources in marketing strategies in minority markets. The persistence of racial barriers to capital and mainstream markets further compounded the problems that black manufacturers faced. As a result, competition from larger white-owned conglomerates intensified in the ethnic beauty aids industry, and black manufacturers found few options open to them beyond the traditional business strategies used by blacks to cope with racism and racial discrimination in the economy.
The experiences of another black businessman, George Johnson, illustrate how the nexus between racial discrimination in mainstream society and the growing involvement of white-owned conglomerates in minority markets affected the stability of black manufacturing in the ethnic beauty aids industry.
05/26/2026
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