The William Julius Wilson effect: Wilson’s personal and professional influence on a young African American scholar’s sociological investigation of race

Abstract

This article examines ways in which William Julius Wilson’s research agenda has influenced my approach to the study of African Americans and their everyday lives. I pay particular attention to Wilson’s explication of structural factors – such as economic conditions, residential patterns, and discrimination – that influence African Americans’ life chances. In this context I consider the interpretive processes; i.e., meaning making through conversation, that African Americans themselves use to understand their position in America’s racial, economic and class hierarchy. Throughout the article I illustrate how both my personal and professional relationship with Bill Wilson helped me to articulate my research agenda. I conclude by discussing how Wilson provided his students with opportunities to challenge his work and a forum for developing their own ideas that move beyond his own methodological and substantive concerns.