Black Sociologists Research Articles

The victim-bind dilemma of black female sociologists in academe

In this article, the author argues that black female academicians, in particular sociologists, are in a “victim-bind,” which indicates their paradoxical ambivalence and produces stereotypical perceptions. This article examines the purpose and functions of stereotypic perceptions of black females in various phases of graduate school and early career development. It draws on the limited literature as well as the experiences and observations of the author and points out how the political culture and institutional structures of academic communities and departments shape images and career patterns of black women being professionalized as sociologists and social scientists in general. It concludes that stereotypic perceptions of black females are tied into the institutional systems of gender, race and power relations which represent in microcosm, the society at large.

From a committed achiever to a radical social scientist: The life course dialectics of a “Marginal” black american sociologist

In the following analysis, the human life course, micropolitics of dominant-subordinate relations, and phenomenological perspectives will be used to better understand marginality’ in the early socialization and career development of a black American sociologist. My graduate school education and tenure track experiences will be used as “data” through which a dialectical model of marginalization and human development can be formulated.

Academic odyssey: The training of an African sociologist

This article describes my experience of graduate training in sociology at an elite American university. As an African, I faced cultural and intellectual pressures to adopt white middle class cultural norms and a Eurocentric worldview. The article critiques American sociology, including symbolic interactionism, the sociology of the Third World and the study of race and ethnic relations. I describe my personal encounter with American racism and the process that led me to conduct research on black immigrants. I argue that my exposure to American sociology and experience of American society transformed me into a black marginal sociologist, specializing in teaching and research on the African-American experience in the New World.

Black Encounter of Racism and Elitism in White Academe

In attempting to allege or apply the term racism to a social circumstance behavior or act, one has to be cognizant of the inexplicable nature of racism as a concept. Although racism may be perceived as an abstraction, it is, nevertheless, a tangible phenomenon in that it can be apprehended by the mind and senses. Therefore, like any other feeling or sense, racism is capable of affecting the social climate, political ideology, and economic policy within an educational, governmental, or commercial institution. Benedict (1947) contends that racism cannot be scientifically investigated or demonstrated, but must be studied historically. However, Black sociologists have tended to differ with Benedict's assumption. Cox (1970) implies that racism is quite materialistic in its manifestation and that its development arises out of the imperialistic practices of capitalism. George (1984) perceives racism as an ideology of racial privilege that invariably accompanies a colonial situation. Thus institutional racism might be defined or described as one group having relative advantages or disadvantages of another on a racial basis, especially when the disadvantaged group has a colonial

The Black Family: A Bibliography of Recent Works

the mid-1970s, literature on the black family was extensive and represented diverse points of view. It included pioneering works by Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois and E. Franklin Frazier; contemporary studies by Andrew Billingsley, Robert Hill and Joyce Ladner; thought-provoking works by Robert Staples and Herbert Gutman; and the controversial Moynihan . Report. Sociologists, historians, anthropologists, psychologists, political scientists, educators, social workers, journalists and writers in other fields expounded on such issues as the matriarchy, the legacy of slavery, African cultural survivals, pathology and black family strengths. During the last year a surge of coverage in the popular media has contributed to the increase of publication on the black family. Recent concerns have focused on a variety of issues, including institutional racism, unemployment, economic problems of single-parent families, teenage pregnancy, male-female relationships, the roles of men in families, child development and negative portrayals in the press. This bibliography will focus on books published since 1976 on black families in the United States. Although the emphasis is on books, many articles, dissertations and government documents, too numerous to cite here, have addressed the subject. Journals frequently carrying articles on AfroAmerican families include Black Child Advocate, Black Enterprise, The Black Scholar, Black Sociologist, Crisis, Ebony (which featured the black family in its August 1986 issue), Essence, Fanon Center Journal, Journal of Black Studies, Journal of the National Medical Association, Lincoln Review, Phylon, Review of Black Political Economy, Urban League Review and Western Journal of Black Studies. In addition to these black-oriented journals, some of the general periodicals which have recently presented articles on the black family are such diverse publications as American Economic Review, Christian Science Monitor, Journal of American History, New Republic, Newsweek and Penthouse. Access to material in these journals and in other sources can be obtained by consulting the following indexes and abstracts: Dissertation Abstracts, Index to Black Newspapers, Index to Periodical Articles By and About Blacks, Magazine Index, Public Affairs Information Service, Readers9 Guide to Periodical Literature, Sage Race Relations Abstracts, Social Science Index and Social Work Abstracts.

An Examination of Three Distinct Attitudes among Black Sociologists

An Examination of Three Distinct Attitudes among Black Sociologists

Role Relations of Black Sociologists With the Black Community

This article examines sociologists' perceptions of the role relations of black sociologists with the black community. Literature written in the 1960s and 1970s by and about black sociologists suggests they (1) have a coalescent relationship with the black community and (2) want to develop special theoretical and methodological approaches to study black people. However, there are no data showing the extent to which black sociologists agree or disagree with these assumptions. This article provides such data by contrasting responses of black sociologists to statements taken from this literature, with responses of white sociologists. First, literature about black sociologists suggests their relationship with other blacks is unique because they positively identify with them (Conyers and Epps, 1974; Jackson, 1974; Record, 1974; Merton, 1973). This relationship takes the form of defending and supporting the black community's efforts of achieving equality in America. For example, some argue white

The Contribution of Blacks to Sociological Knowledge: A Problem of Theory and Role to 1950

N THE LATE 1960s sociology was a popular major for black under1 graduates. There was interest among sociologists in what a generation of black scholars might offer the field since it was clear and of great concern that the social sciences were not bias-free. Methods and interpretations of research were conditioned by the scientist's background, experience, and opinions. If blacks and persons from other diverse backgrounds could enter the field, then all would ideally benefit and sociological research, bias withstanding, would reflect and be able to draw on a greater range of talent and experience than it had in the past. After a decade there is now a question of whether this accommodation and addition of backgrounds and experiences into sociological research has occurred or was ever desired. Indications are that there has been some reaction against integration. If there had been interest in having more black researchers, there might now be more than the few who have completed doctorates in the 1970s, given the large number of majors in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As interested blacks got beyond the introductory and intermediate courses, many found the methods and theories they were expected to adopt inadequate and alienating. They also may have been given few opportunities to something constructively and creatively with these ideas and procedures in graduate classrooms and committees. Many left the field bitter. The same experience has reduced the ranks of new black sociologists on their first and second appointments. They are finding little support or interest for their work, and tenure is the final judgment. The present situation leads one to ask another question. Is there a relation between the social uses or the role sociology plays in society and the presence of blacks within the field? We can look at the role of sociology in society by examining its theories and then the contribution or reactions of the past two generations of black sociologists to these theories. I hope to do four things: 1) show the circumstances under which the social sciences emerged, 2) show that the resulting role the social sciences movement took on in England and later in the United States was anti-black, 3) examine the contribution and potential contribution that the first two generations of black sociologists might have made, and 4) provide a historic context for the embattlement of the present and third generation of black sociologists.

The Importance of Race Among Black Sociologists

This paper explores the importance of race and racial attitudes among sociologists by attempting to document the existence of what has been called a “black insiders doctrine” and showing that black...

The Training of Black Sociologists: Tolbert H. Kennedy and Washington State University

The Training of Black Sociologists: Tolbert H. Kennedy and Washington State University

The Importance of Race Among Black Sociologists*

The Importance of Race Among Black Sociologists*

Black Sociology and Phenomenological Sociology

This paper is a comparative analysis of black sociology and phenomenological sociology and an attempt to show how phenomenology might be used to provide an epistemological foundation for black sociology. Attention is directed toward the writings of black and phenomenological sociologists. Arguments rest on appeals to authorities—quotations from and citations to influential writers. The specific points of comparison are the way the protagonists of the perspectives (1) define their activities, (2) criticize conventional sociology, and (3) investigate social reality. Epistemological issues are examined within a framework of the standard methodological problems of validity and reliability.

Black Sociologists in White America

Black Sociologists in White America

Black Sociologists in White America

Black Sociologists in White America

Black Sociologists: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.

Black Sociologists: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.

Black Sociologists: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.James E. Blackwell , Morris Janowitz

<i>Black Sociologists: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.</i>James E. Blackwell , Morris Janowitz

The Black Sociologists: The First Half Century.

The Black Sociologists: The First Half Century.

Black Families in White America

This 20th-anniversary edition of a modern classic by a leading black sociologist coincides with a rising awareness of how closely the fate of black families in America is related to the ultimate fate of America itself. Over 70,000 sold in previous editions.

A History and Analysis of Radical Activism in Sociology, 1967–1969, with Special Reference to the Sociology Liberation Movement, the Black Caucus, the Executive Council, the War in Vietnam and a Few Other Things*

Radical activism in sociology can be explained as reaction against developments in American society, university structure, social theory and the American Sociology Association. Beginning in 1967 with a controversy over a Vietnam resolution, it has grown to include organized opposition through the Sociology Liberation Movement and the separation of the Black Sociologists Association. The assumptions behind sociology as an academic field and an occupation, have been and are being tested and found erroneous by an increasing number of sociologists.

Black Families in White America

This 20th-anniversary edition of a modern classic by a leading black sociologist coincides with a rising awareness of how closely the fate of black families in America is related to the ultimate fate of America itself. Over 70,000 sold in previous editions.