African American Markets
WANN, a radio station in Annapolis, Maryland, cultivated black consumers and demonstrated their buying power to businesses. African Americans challenged segregation by demanding better jobs and equal access to goods and services.
WANN remote broadcasting box, late 1950s
WANN deejays broadcast from remote locations like stores and the beach, connecting their audiences to retailers and music promoters alike.
RCA Globe Trotter 8 radio, about 1956
Radios, made smaller and more portable by the invention of transistors, allowed young consumers to take their music with them.
Hit Records
WANN promoted African American recording artists by playing their records and turning songs into hits.
Stax gold record, 1973–1974
Stax Records, a rival to Motown, presented this commemorative gold record to deejays at WANN for helping the company sell over a million copies.
Pepsi and Wrigley’s advertised to youthful black consumers in this period.
Brochure, “How do you sell to urban negro consumers?” about 1960
Would you like to learn more about these objects and other related stories from the Consumer Era? Click on the screenshot above to open an interactive display in a new window.
