SHENNETTE GARRETT-SCOTT
HISTORIAN · AUTHOR · SPEAKER
The Business of Freedom chronicles the rise of Black enterprise from emancipation through its golden age—and the forces that brought the era to an end.
“A stunning work
of history.”
Marcia Chatelain, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America
COMING FEBRUARY 2027
PREORDER TODAY
Free enterprise alone didn't make Black people free.
THE BUSINESS OF FREEDOM
The Golden Age of Black Capitalism
The Business of Freedom tells the story of Black enterprise through the lives of the people who built it. From emancipation through the Great Depression, Shennette Garrett-Scott follows Black entrepreneurs who carved opportunity out of exclusion. Their successes were real, but so were the limits imposed by segregation, unequal access to capital, and the violence that shadowed Black prosperity.
The book reveals Black capitalism as a strategy for both individual and collective empowerment—and shows why free enterprise alone could never deliver the freedom its champions promised.
Forthcoming February 2, 2027
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THE BOOK
To understand American capitalism, put Black enterprise at the center.
— Justene Hill Edwards, Douglass Prize-winning author of Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank
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PRAISE FOR THE BUSINESS OF FREEDOM
“As captivating and heartbreaking as it is brilliant. I was blown away.”
“This vividly rendered history . . . reveals the paradox of modern capitalism.”
“Garrett-Scott expertly recovers an earlier generation’s freedom dreams. ”
“Exceptional ... [a] powerful book. ”
“...both challenging and hopeful — a testament to towering achievement that everyone should read. ”
“A spellbinding work.... This book is one of the most enthralling histories you’ll ever read. ”
— LaShawn Harris, award-winning author of Tell Her Story: Eleanor Bumpurs and the Police Killing that Galvanized NYC
— Benjamin C. Waterhouse, author of One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion that Conquered America
— Martha S. Jones, award-winning author of The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir
— Devin Fergus, author of Land of the Fee and Board Chair of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
— Kellie Carter Jackson, award-winning author of We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance
I am a historian of Black economic life and the
struggle for freedom.
ABOUT ME
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I am a historian, author, professor, and speaker whose work explores how African Americans built businesses, financial institutions, and other forms of economic power—and what those efforts reveal about the long struggle for freedom.
Before entering academia, I worked in the subprime mortgage industry, sold real estate, and owned small businesses. Those experiences sharpened my interest in the possibilities markets can create and the unequal terms on which opportunity is often offered. They continue to shape the questions I bring to the archive about capital, ownership, power, and freedom.
I am Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies and Associate Chair of Africana Studies at Tulane University. My first book, Banking on Freedom, has received multiple awards and examines Black women’s history in banking and finance. As a public scholar and speaker, I bring this history into broader conversations about capitalism, wealth, institutions, and power.
EVENTS AND APPEARANCES
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Meet me on the road and in conversation.
Image Credits: Ashley Adams, Moka Beaute Atelier, mokabeaute.com and Shennette Garrett-Scott
© Shennette Garrett-Scott 2026