Black Ethnographic Activists: Exploring Robert Park,Scientific Racism,The Chicago School,and FBI Files Through the Black Sociological Experience of Charles S. Johnson and E. Franklin Frazier

Charles S. Johnson and E. Franklin Frazier were successful Black sociologists from the 1920s to 1960s, working in an age of scientific racism and eugenics, who battled racial oppression, racist discrimination, and surveillance under the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both struggled within and against the assimilationist paradigm, yet their ethnographic and critical insights speak out today with continuing relevance in the fight against practical and institutional racial injustice. This study selectively examines Johnson and Frazier's academic careers as forgotten ethnographer activists who have been largely excluded from the dominant narrative of the Chicago School of Sociology. This article argues Robert Park offered opportunities to these Black scholars although the white university system exclusively directed their work towards race studies. Furthermore, the white discipline of sociology failed to recognize Johnson and Frazier's critical ethnographic studies as part of interactionism.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
The Achieving Society. By D avid C. McC lelland .
The Corporation in the Emergent American Society. By W. L loyd W arner .
Conflict and Defense: A General Theory. By K enneth E. B oulding .
Organization Theory in Industrial Practice: A Symposium of the Foundation for Research on Human Behavior. Edited by M ason H aire .
Race Relations Problems and Theory. Essays in Honor of Robert E. Park. Edited by J itsuichi M asuoka and P reston V alien .
Black Nationalism. A Search for an Identity in America. By E. U. E ssien - U dom .
The Black Muslims in America. By C. E ric L incoln .
John Millar of Glasgow, 1735–1801: His Life and Thought and His Contributions to Sociological Analysis. By W illiam C. L ehmann . University of Glasgow Social and Economic Studies, No. 4.     

The Impact and Influence of HBCUs on the Social Work Profession

Faculties at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) have demonstrated stellar contributions to social work, which include early thought and epistemology related to strengths, empowerment, and social justice perspectives; religious orientation; inclusive learning environment, and community-based research. W. E. B. DuBois was the most influential among these HBCU scholars; however, the DuBoisian tradition of scholar as activist must include works of Frazier, Haynes, Young, and others, who fueled discourse on contemporary social problems despite prejudice, discrimination, and Jim Crow. HBCUs provided direction for services to the new Black urban class when the profession was not prepared to do so. They led the profession to use new theoretical ideas, perspectives, and service modes for a new clientele.     

Freedom Works! The Vision and Broken Heart of Jack D. Douglas

It gives me particular pleasure to publish this review of a major but neglected figure in the recent history of symbolic interactionism. I only heard Jack Douglas speak once, when he gave a plenary address to the British Sociological Association annual conference in Lancaster in the mid‐1980s. The audience treated him quite disgracefully on that occasion. Douglas made two subtle points about the need for sociologists to take contemporary research in primate ethology more seriously and to reconsider spontaneous order theories in social science. His listeners assumed that he was talking about the crasser forms of sociobiology and praising the laissez‐faire ideologies of Thatcherism, and booed him off the stage. I declined to renew my membership to the BSA for about ten years after this episode. I only rejoined when I became a department chair and it was important to be engaged with the professional association, whatever my personal views. John Johnson's paper reminds us of Douglas's important and challenging legacy of ideas, and of the support and inspiration that he gave to a whole generation of outstanding scholars. Robert Dingwall Jack Douglas published 26 books and many articles between 1967 and 1989, and by his intellectual charisma influenced a productive cohort of young scholars who have produced over 70 books and 700 articles and chapters since the 1970s. He combined phenomenology, existentialism, and naturalistic field work to create an approach he termed Existential Sociology, also the title of a 1977 anthology. His thinking has undergone significant changes during the course of a long intellectual career. Following his 1992 retirement, the development of the internet and new technologies of communication afforded Jack a “second life” with a transdisciplinary intellectual community outside of the university environment. This paper briefly summarizes a small part of his life and intellectual project.     

W.E.B. DU BOIS,THE BLACK CHURCH,AND THE SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF RELIGION

During his early sociological period (1896–1914), Du Bois published several empirically-based studies on the Black Church. Many topics were addressed that are relevant to the contemporary study of the Black Church and the sociology of religion. Du Bois utilized methodological triangulation to empirically ground his studies of the Black Church. Census, survey, and ethnographic data were integrated to provide a comprehensive picture of the role of the Black Church in the African American community. He addressed the social construction of African American religious identity and provided an early functional analysis of the Black Church. The association between religion and social class was recognized, and Du Bois was a pioneer in the area of congregational studies addressing such issues as church expenditures and membership patterns and generating surveys of children's religious beliefs and ministerial effectiveness. Extensive data were collected on Black Church membership in large cities and small communities. These data make it possible to reconstruct the Black Church religious economy in these areas. Du Bois' sociological work on religion provides a link to the discipline's past and a bridge to its future.     

(Re)Seeing Black girls: intersections of liberalism,difference, and the hidden curriculum

This article analyses the race and gender norms embedded in the verbal and visual discourse at an internationally acclaimed secondary magnet school in Philadelphia. While scholars have documented the visual learning of adolescents and elementary school-aged youth of colour extensively, few have focused exclusively on the nature of visual learning for young Black women in and around urban schools. The nature of looking and the visual is a highly contested and political process in the twenty-first century urban context. Images saturate the cityscape; these images teach. Thus this article examines the specific lessons related to race, gender, and place young Black women learn from the school adults who shape the visual culture of their school environment. Based on an ethnographic, photographic and discourse analysis study, this article argues that even in the context of an award-winning, progressive, liberal-minded school culture, young working class Black women are often softly encouraged to change and or are re-programmed into more palatable, commodifiable versions of themselves that both sustain and advance the school’s identity as different. This ‘re-programming’ often requires young Black women to alter their dress, speech, and physical demeanour in order to find belonging in a larger school culture dominated by a discourse of inclusivity and diversity.     

Myth,allegiances, and the study of social control

That sociology subscribes to certain popular myths and has aligned itself with the welfare of some groups over others complicates research into social control. This is especially so when the research deals with stereotypes and their effects on differential legal treatment. That the discipline has historically taken sides regarding certain commonly held stereotypes and been supportive of certain groups, means that findings that challenge those stereotypes or that are viewed as detrimental to the supported groups are brought into question. Our research on a regulatory mechanism of social control—the Black Book, a list of persons excluded from licensed gaming in Nevada because of their perceived threat to the industry—is illustrative of these complications. Our findings that the Black Book is largely symbolic and is applied discriminatorily challenge not only beliefs in its efficacy but certain myths and allegiances within sociology. That a group sociologically identified with the problem was discriminated against, and that a well-protected group elicited preferential treatment at the hands of regulators who identify with them have been particularly problematic for the acceptance of the findings. We argue here that debunking myth and value neutrality are essential to scientific endeavor and should override such disciplinary tendencies toward the tolerance and protection of some groups over others. Her research has dealt with aspects of culture, organized crime, and social elites. She is currently working on a book on high society and thoroughbred racing. His publications have dealt with issues of labeling and secondary deviation, the role of stereotypes in the legal process, and the legal reaction to corporate crime.     

Sensitivities: emotion-work and resulting personal effects in researching Black lesbians

The issues of self-disclosure, empathy, sharing the lives of others, developing rapport, and emotional memories are presented in relationship to the conduct of qualitative research interviews with Black lesbian students attending a historically Black university within a southern U.S. regional context. The challenge of doing such sensitive research is discussed from my perspective of also being a Black lesbian researcher, and the questions that this raised for me. Specific examples from the interview experiences are provided of self-disclosure, empathy, and rapport with the student participants. Conclusions suggest the need for building a community of social support for female scholars of African descent who study and serve Black lesbian populations.     

Brown,Title IX and the impact of race and sex segregation on sports participation opportunities for Black females

Although neither the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision nor Title IX of the Education Amendments Act (1972) specifically mentions sports participation, both antidiscrimination laws have changed the landscape of high school and college sports by granting Blacks and females increased access to athletic opportunities previously reserved for Whites males. Although Brown and Title IX are popular topics among research scholars, studies rarely consider the unique experiences of Black females, who unlike Black males and White females, occupy at least two subordinate social locations due to their race and gender. This article goes beyond the usual single axis of inquiry and examines the intersection of Brown and Title IX and, thus, the intersection of race and sex for Black females who inhabit a sports world dominated by Whites and males. Using existing literature to assess the implementation and effectiveness of Brown and Title IX independently before exploring their sociohistorical linkages and integrated effect on access to sports participation opportunities, the author finds that Black women and girls have been left out of the game.     

Does SNAP serve as a safety net for mothers facing an economic shock? An analysis of Black and White unwed mothers' responses to paternal imprisonment

In an era of increasing economic insecurity and declining welfare assistance, scholars and policy makers have increasingly recognized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) as an important safety net for disadvantaged families facing a loss of income. Research on welfare and race has found that SNAP use is more frequent among Black families than White families. However, scholars have overlooked another potential source of race-based variation in the use of SNAP: differences in how Black and White mothers use SNAP as a safety net when facing an economic shock such as fathers' imprisonment. Analyses using difference-in-difference-in-difference methods suggest that while Black mothers generally receive a higher level of SNAP benefits than White mothers, SNAP benefit increases following fathers' imprisonment are less effective in compensating for the loss of income among Black mothers than among White mothers. Additional analyses, including a propensity score matching model, produce consistent results. The racial difference in income shock to families caused by paternal imprisonment does not account for this racial disparity. These findings highlight an important mechanism through which an income shock such as paternal imprisonment can produce particularly negative consequences for Black children.     

Rap music,race, and perceptions of crime

Scholars who study rap music have long expressed concerns that criticism of the genre is inextricably linked to stereotypes of young Black men in the United States. Yet minimal research has empirically examined how rap music is linked to race in ways that legitimize and maintain anti‐Black attitudes, particularly attitudes related to crime. This article reviews how scholars have typically challenged seemingly racialized concerns about rap music before surveying the handful of studies that empirically examine attitudes related to rap music, race, and crime. In so doing, this essay highlights a growing need for broader conceptualizations of race/ethnicity and social control.     

The Social Psychology of Robert E. Park: Human Nature,Self, Personality and Social Structure

Robert E. Park is widely recognized today for his contributions to urban sociology, race relations and collective behavior but his social psychology has been largely neglected. Park's inclusive and loose framework covered his interest in: (1) human nature and the bio-physiological instincts which for him were raw materials of personality; (2) formulation of self concept as an organization of roles; and (3) micro-macro linkages between individual and social structure. Each one of Park's three themes is still important for symbolic interaction theory and offers insights into contemporary investigations of emotions, role acquisition and identity.     

Frantz Fanon,poet: pleasure of the text,power of the text

ABSTRACT

Frantz Fanon’s writing represents a productive embrace of the political and the poetic. His ideas have had such a long afterlife, they live on in us, I submit, precisely because the language of their articulation, image-filled and rhythmic, is compelling. This article examines three elements of Fanonian poetics in Black Skin, White Masks: the use of metaphor and, in “By Way of Conclusion,” an ambiguous/multiple “I” as persona, and, finally, what Brent Edwards has called “anaphoric poetics,” the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases.     

Playing in the White Man's Yard Reflections on Jane Flax's The American Dream in Black and White—The Clarence Thomas Hearings

This essay engages Jane Flax's The American Dream in Black and White: The Clarence Thomas Hearings through an elaboration of both the manifest and latent beliefs that mine the actions of a promising man of color, and a powerful group of men who sit in judgment of him. Noting the role assumed by gender politics in this drama, the author highlights Max's lucid commentary on the progress of the American dream, as women and people of color still serve as dispensable commodities for the men of the mainstream.     

Leo Bogart, 1921-2005

Leo Bogart, who died October 15, 2005, in New York City, calledhimself an "applied sociologist" because he spent his careerin marketing rather than academic research. But his contributionsto knowledge filled 14 books, three of them published afterhe turned 80. His appreciation for the nuances of opinion measurementand contributions to question design would have earned him distinctionon any faculty, and so his career embodied the commercial-academicblend that has characterized the American Association for PublicOpinion Research (AAPOR). Born in Lvov, Poland, he moved with his family to New York atthe age of 2. He was a high school newspaper editor in     

The White City: Race and Urban Politics

Urban regime analysis and growth machine theory offer critical tools to study power and inequality in cities. However, the field of urban politics has moved away from critically addressing race. I discuss these theories' potential contributions before suggesting scholars “bring race back” to urban politics in several key areas: studying “White urban regimes” in addition to Black urban regimes; examining how Whiteness factors into growth (and anti‐growth) coalitions; exploring how racial discourse shapes urban regimes; and accounting for the relationship between suburbs and “fringe cities” and the city, including suburban regimes.     

Urban Nightlife,Social Capital,and the Public Life of Cities1

Sociologists and urban scholars emphasize how nightlife establishments contribute to the social capital and public life of cities. In the interests of tempering this line of argument, I suggest three generalizable empirical findings that provide grounds for skepticism on this score: (1) the racial and class barriers to participation imposed by urban nightlife enterprises; (2) the normalization of gender differences and the routine harassment of women within such scenes; and (3) the lack of inclusiveness surrounding local nightlife in urban neighborhood communities. These findings suggest that nightlife scenes may function more efficiently as generators of bonding rather than bridging social capital.     

Race and the Race for the White House: On Social Research in the Age of Trump

As it became clear that Donald Trump had a real base of political support, even as analysts consistently underestimated his electoral prospects, they grew increasingly fascinated with the question of who was supporting him (and why). However, researchers have also tended to hold strong negative opinions about Trump, and have approached research with uncharitable priors about the kind of person who would support him and what they would be motivated by. This essay presents a series of case studies showing how analyses of the roles of race and racism in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election seem to have been systematically distorted as a result. However, motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, prejudicial study design, and failure to address confounds are not limited to questions about race (a similar essay could have been done on the alleged role of sexism/ misogyny in the 2016 cycle, for instance). And while Trump does seem to generate particularly powerful antipathy from researchers – perhaps exacerbating negative tendencies – ideologically-driven errors likely permeate a good deal of social research. Presented evidence suggests that research with strong adversarial or advocacy orientations may be most susceptible to systemic distortion. Activist scholars and their causes may also be among those most adversely impacted by the resultant erosion of research reliability and credibility. Ultimately, however, these are problems which all social scientists must remain vigilant against, and which we all have a stake in working to address.     

Acknowledging the historical contributions of Black Youth's civic engagement in society

Historical contributions of Black youth voices and actions are overlooked from many of the narratives of youth civic engagement (YCE) literature. Specifically, the histories and stories of African American youth in the United States and Black Caribbean youth in the Anglophone Caribbean. The shared socio and political obstacles these particular groups have encountered throughout history shaped similar paths for their involvement in civic society to address many of these social and racial injustices. The article's premise centers on the need for the YCE literature to acknowledge the historical civic contributions African American and Black Caribbean youth have made throughout history. Fundamental historical civic movements that were designed, developed, and supported by Black youth set the tone of Black youth's civic engagement throughout history. These were shaped and contextualized by three specific macrosystem influences (political suppression, institutional racism, and cultural oppression). When YCE scholars begin to make greater meaning of the foundations and critical work developed by Black youth civic activists, a more comprehensive field emerges. With the acknowledgment and inclusion of civic contributions created and implemented during historical eras, more profound meaning is gained of civic engagement among communities and people who have generally been disenfranchised. Coming to terms with their civic legacies developed from racial injustices provides a more comprehensive depiction of civic engagement as a field and body of literature.     

Residential Segregation by Race and the Black Merchants of Northern Cities During the Early Twentieth Century

During the early 20th century, many Blacks in northern cities entered the retail trade, supposedly because residential segregation was advantageous to Black merchants. Building upon historical studies of Blacks in the urban North and upon the sociological literature on Black business enterprise, I use census data to analyze the relationship between (1) the spatial isolation of Blacks and (2) the representation of Blacks in the retail trade. I find that between 1900 and 1930 the association between these two variables became significantly positive. This finding corroborates historical case studies, and I conclude that after segregated Black communities emerged in northern cities at the end of the study period, spatial isolation did increase the participation of Blacks in the retail trade.