In 1963 Columbia Records, Roulette Records, and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) joined forces to produce and release a jazz record titled A Jazz Salute to Freedom , and in doing so they allied with CORE and their fight for racial equality. The sales revenue generated helped CORE maintain a positive cash flow and exposed legions of jazz fans in the United States and abroad to CORE’s concerns with racial discrimination. The record’s marketing collateral engaged fans in dialogue about the fight for racial equality. By offering CORE access to resources and professional expertise, Roulette and Columbia became collaborators in civil rights activism. The relationship between CORE, Roulette, and Columbia Records represents a unique historical example of corporate allyship within the struggle for civil rights, an example that adds nuance and complexity to our historical understanding of the movement’s relationship with private enterprise.
Nicholas Gaffney (Wed,) studied this question.