Allison Davis: Social Scientist for Social Justice

Abstract

Allison Davis (1902–1983) was one of the premier African American intellectuals of his generation. Having inherited a world dominated by the color line yet privileged enough to attend the most elite universities in the United States, Davis dedicated his life to social science. At turns an anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, psychoanalyst, and educationalist, Davis spent his career com-batting race and class inequalities within an academy dominated by White men. He personally broke barriers by becoming the first African American to earn tenure at a predominantly White university, and his research was no less path breaking. It pushed the theoretical boundaries of multiples disciplines and influenced policymakers and activists alike. Through works such as Deep South (1941), Children of Bondage (1940), the Social-Class Influences upon Education (1948), and many other publications, Davis had a significant impact on American intellectual life—one that endures to this day. This essay explains Davis's contributions while also critically assessing the limitations of his body of work, including the top-down model of social change he represented and the marginalization of women and gender.