Final answer:
Carter G. Woodson criticized the decline of black-owned businesses due to chain stores capturing the black consumer market and highlighted inconsistencies in Black capitalism with the reliance on government aid despite promoting self-reliance. He, along with civil rights leaders, pointed out the failure of Black capitalism to address wider systemic issues and the undue burden it placed on African Americans for their own advancement.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carter G. Woodson was critical of the impact that large chain stores had on black businesses. Due to societal changes and the civil rights movement, once-thriving black-owned businesses faced steep declines in patronage as greater integration allowed chain stores to capture the black consumer market. This transition was marked by a drop from nearly a quarter of black consumer spending going to black-owned businesses to only 3% by the mid-1990s. Additionally, black entrepreneurs who once poured resources back into their communities and provided employment saw their businesses, such as independent hotels and beauty companies, vanishing. The criticism extends to Black capitalism's adherents, who, despite their promotion of self-reliance, have sometimes relied on government assistance to develop their businesses—showing an inconsistency that mirrored larger societal criticisms of welfare dependency.
Moreover, historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. argued that the narrative of Black capitalism unduly placed the burden of advancement on African Americans without addressing structural inequalities and systemic racism. This perspective suggests that while Black capitalism had its merits in promoting economic self-sufficiency, it faced opposition from civil rights leaders who favored economic and social integration over separation. They contended that Black capitalism lets the federal government and white community 'off the hook' by diverting the responsibilities of ensuring equality and countering structural disadvantages away from society at large and solely onto black individuals.
Despite the potential of Black capitalism to foster economic independence, the challenges it presented and its limited scope of addressing deeply-rooted systemic issues render a multifaceted analysis of its efficacy in empowering the black community during Woodson's era and beyond.