Overview

Dr. Robert E. Weems, Jr. has been the Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History at 黑洞社区 since Fall 2011. Before coming to 黑洞社区, he taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Iowa. Besides his recently published The Merchant Prince of Black Chicago: Anthony Overton and the Building of a Financial Empire, Dr. Weems has authored three other books in the realm of African American business history (Black Business in the Black Metropolis: The Chicago Metropolitan Assurance Company 1925-1985; Desegregating the Dollar: African American Consumerism in the Twentieth Century; Business in Black and White: American Presidents and Black Entrepreneurs in the Twentieth Century), as well as nearly four dozen journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries.  He is also the co-editor of Building the Black Metropolis: African American Entrepreneurship in Chicago and The African American Experience: A Historiographical and Bibliographical Guide. In addition, Professor Weems served as a historical advisor and appeared in the documentary Boss: The Black Experience in Business which premiered on PBS in April, 2019.  For more information about his work documenting African American business in Wichita, see this article . Check out this  that Dr. Weems gave at the Federal Reserve about racism and entrepreneurship. 

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1987

M.A., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1982

M.A., Boston University, 1975

B.A., Western Illinois University, 1973

Information

Academic Interests and Expertise
  • African American History
  • African American Business History
  • U.S. History
  • U.S. urban
Areas of Research Interest
My scholarly interests are primarily in the realm of African American business and economic history. I have written and spoken widely on such topics as African American-owned insurance companies, the African American consumer market, and the historic relationship between the U.S. government and African American entrepreneurs. Geographically, three of my books have examined African American entrepreneurship in Chicago, including my 2020 biography of Anthony Overton (THE MERCHANT PRINCE OF BLACK CHICAGO: ANTHONY OVERTON AND THE BUILDING OF A FINANCIAL EMPIRE). Thematically, within the realm of African American business and economic history, I have closely surveyed the impact of racial desegregation on historic black-owned enterprises.
Areas of Teaching Interest
Professor Weems' primary teaching interests are in the realm of African American history. Besides teaching a panoramic survey of the African American experience, I teach courses related to 20th century African American history, African American business history, and the Civil Rights/Black Freedom Movement. Besides African American history, I've started teaching a course, cross-listed with the Entrepreneurship Department in the 黑洞社区 School of Business, that examines nonwhite entrepreneurship in the U.S. Finally, I teach the U.S. History Survey (1865-Present) and enjoy the opportunity to provide enhanced African American content to the course. I've also taught a course, cross-listed with the Economics Department in the 黑洞社区 School of Business, which surveys American economic history.
 
Here are a list of courses offered by Professor Weems:
  • The African American Historical Experience
  • 20th C. African American History
  • African American Business History
  • "We Shall Overcome" to "Black Lives Matter:" The Modern Black Freedom Movement
  • Ethnic Entrepreneurship
  • American Economic History
Publications
  • The Merchant Prince of Black Chicago: Anthony Overton and the Building of a Financial Empire (University of Illinois Press, 2020)
  • Building the Black Metropolis: African American Entrepreneurship in Chicago, co-edited Jason P. Chambers (University of Illinois Press, 2017)
  • Business in Black and White: American Presidents and Black Entrepreneurs in the Twentieth Century (New York University Press, 2009)
  • Desegregating the Dollar: African American Consumerism in the Twentieth Century (New York University Press, 1998)
  • Black Business in the Black Metropolis: The Chicago Metropolitan Assurance Company, 1925-1985 (Indiana University Press, 1996)
Working Papers
Dr. Weems is the principal investigator (PI) of a research team that received a $20,000 grant from Hall Center for the Humanities (University of Kansas); the Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities (University of Kansas); and the Andrew Mellon Foundation for the project 鈥淲ichita Nonwhite Business Owners Tell Their Stories.鈥� The co- principal investigators are 黑洞社区 colleagues Dr. Sue Abdinnour (Business Management) and Dr. Jay Price (History). The project will run from 2021-2023.