0524 - Pioneering Sociology on the Periphery: Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Role in Founding American Scientific Sociology (Co-sponsored by ABS)

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Description

The ASA honors four great black sociologists—DuBois, Frazier, Cox and Johnson—yet sociologists know little about where and how they worked. What they share, along with other pioneering black sociologists, was never holding professorships in white universities because white supremacy would not permit such an outcome. Thus, they spent their careers in poor, oppressed Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s). They triumphed against staggering odds, building major sociology programs, and producing theoretical and empirically based sociology that countered the narratives of the white mainstream, especially regarding race. These institutions included Fisk, Atlanta, and Howard universities, Hampton, Tuskegee, Spelman, Tougaloo, and Morehouse colleges. Nevertheless, mainstream sociology is ignorant of the major contributions these institutions despite their critical roles in the origin of American scientific sociology. This panel will take a major step forward in correcting this intellectual blindness.

Sub Unit

• Plenary Session

Session Organizers

• Aldon D. Morris, Northwestern University

• Sandra E. Taylor, Clark Atlanta University

Presider

• Sandra E. Taylor, Clark Atlanta University

Individual Presentations

• HBCU’s Pioneering Role in the Founding of American Sociology - Joyce Ladner, The Brookings Institution

• The Black and Southern Roots of American Sociology - Earl Wright, University of Cincinnati

• Legacy of HBCU’s: Liberation Sociology at the Periphery - Michael Schwartz, Stony Brook State University

• The Black Mecca: Howard University's Contributions to the Social Sciences in the 1930-1950s - Krista Johnson, Howard University

Discussant

• Sandra E. Taylor, Clark Atlanta University