From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs- Author Talk with Joshua Clark Davis
Joshua Clark Davis of the University of Baltimore will discuss his new book, From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs. In the 1960s and ‘70s, activists in the Black Power, feminist, anti-war, and environmental movements founded a wide range of businesses to bring their political work into the marketplace. Thousands of these enterprises operated across the country–but only a handful have survived until today. Some, such as Whole Foods Market, ultimately abandoned their quest for collective political change in favor of maximizing profits. Joshua Davis uncovers the forerunners of today’s social enterprises, while showing how contemporary companies replicate the language–but rarely the mission–of liberation and social change.