The Power and Prestige of LaVerne McNear
On this cold winter day, within the hustle and bus- tle of the downtown frigid pedestrian flow, there is a bright, stable, well-organized, well-stocked vending space on the corner of 10th of Market Street. This beautiful space has been seen and in service to the Philadelphia Center City community for over (50) years. Philadelphians, foreign tourists, diplomats, and everyday working
people frequent this regional gem. When we go to this place to purchase from a magnificent inventory of merchandise, retail apparel, African dashikis, sunglasses, t-shirts, hats, gloves, and hand-crafted jewelry, we are greeted by the humbling energy and smiling face of no other than Queen Laverne!
From this special location, Queen LaVerne has continued to feed the homeless, given sound counsel to countless troubled souls, and brought radiant smiles to people from all walks of life.
When a person finds themselves in this space in winter, spring, summer, or the fall season, they experience a very warm, sincere, honest, and pleasurable attitude.
Queen LaVerne is the first African-American vendor in the city of Philadelphia. She has been affectionately called the “Queen of Vending” due to her tremendous vending history that has exemplified endurance and Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)!
Queen LaVerne started vending with just a dollar and a milk crate in the Septa Subway in the late 1960’s. The historical line of tape where she once sold merchandise can still be seen today.
In the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, I have always felt an extreme sense of pride when I would walk past and purchase items from all the Black vendors on the business corridor of 52nd Street. All the tables neatly lined up on either side of the street showed Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) and Ujimma (Collective Work and Responsibility). The reality of African-American commerce gave the Black children who passed by in cars, buses, and walks after school–always gave them hope and an example of self-reliance. Within the last (20) years, there have been very few glimpses of successful African vending due to the new unfair, unjust ordinances from the city of Philadelphia. The enforced stringent new laws literally forced most of the Black vendors to find another way to survive.
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