Pushing Cool with Keith Wailoo: The Racial Marketing of Menthol Cigarettes

Fri, 05 Jun, 2026 at 06:00 pm UTC-07:00

Getty Center | Pacific Palasaides

Getty
Publisher/HostGetty
Pushing Cool with Keith Wailoo: The Racial Marketing of Menthol Cigarettes
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Join us for a special lecture by award-winning author Keith Wailoo, centered on his book Pushing Cool: Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette.
Wailoo traces the story of how cigarette companies crafted the appeal of menthol cigarettes—first by tapping into Americans’ rising health and cancer anxieties from the 1920s through the 1950s, and later by deliberately cultivating Black consumers in urban markets in the 1960s. He reveals how the industry built, protected, and fiercely defended these markets for decades, even as public health concerns mounted and regulatory pressures grew. The talk explores the unexpected alliances, critics, and political battles that shaped this contentious history of tobacco, race, health, and American business.
Learn more | https://www.getty.edu/calendar/pushing-cool/
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Getty Center, Los Angeles,CA,United States, Pacific Palasaides

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