The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions [Paperback]

William Julius Wilson is the premiere researcher in the world in the area of African American's role in the American workforce. He is an African American (I am of European descent) and one of only a few University Professors (the most prestigious post for a faculty member) at Harvard University. The book is a brilliant historical account of the changing attitudes towards African Americans in the United States and the ramifications of those changes in the economic realm. I am an economist (Ph.D. from the University of Chicago), and it is rare to see such a level of economic intuition applied to any issue, even from the best economists. This is one of the most impressive books I have read in my life. And in reference to an earlier review, the book in no way claims that racism is "a thing of the past." However, it is perhaps understandable that one might misinterpret the title or simplify the book into making this argument. The book does refer to the the growing relevance of class compared to race in explaining African American economic outcomes today. However, that is more of an end point for the book than a consistent theme running throughout. As the opening two sentences of the second to last chapter state (the chapter has the same title as the book): "This study has revealed that although racial oppression, when viewed from the broad perspective of historical change in American society, was a salient and important feature during the pre-industrial and the industrial periods of race relations in the United States, the problems of subordination for certain segments of the black population and the experiences of social advancement for others are more directly associated with economic class in the modern industrial period. In arriving at this conclusion, I have been careful to recognize the manner in which economic and political changes have gradually shaped a black class structure, making it increasingly difficult to speak of a single or uniform black experience." Enjoy the book and have a great day.

William Julius Wilson (born 1935) is an African-American sociologist, who worked at the University of Chicago (1972-1996) before moving to Harvard. He is also the author of important books such as When Work Disappears : The World of the New Urban Poor and The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy.

He writes in the Preface to this 1980 book, "This book is a study of race and class in the American experience. Its focus is a rather significant departure from that of my previous book, Power, Racism and Privilege, in which I paid little attention to the role of class in understanding issues of race. I now feel that many important features of black and white relations in America are not captured when the issue is defined as majority versus minority and that a preoccupation with race and racial conflict obscures fundamental problems that derive from the intersection of class and race. I should hasten to point out, however, that I do not subscribe to the view that racial problems are necessarily derived from the more fundamental economic class problems. The issues are far more complex than such an analysis would suggest."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"My basic thesis is that American society has experienced three major stages of black-white contact and that each stage embodies a different form of racial stratification structured by the particular arrangement of both the economy and the polity. Stage one ... may be designated the period of plantation economy and racial-caste oppression. Stage two ... may be identified as the period of industrial expansion, class conflict, and racial oppression. Finally, stage three ... may be characterized as the period of progressive transition from racial inequalities to class inequalities." (Pg. 2-3)
"Still, as long as the members of the black middle class were stigmatized by their racial status ... race would continue to be a far more salient and important issue in shaping their sense of group position than their economic class position." (Pg. 21)
"Indeed, nearly all of the major racial flareups in the first half of the twentieth century were directly or indirectly related to labor-market conflicts." (Pg. 109)
"In short, unlike in previous periods of American race relations, economic class is now a more important factor than race in determining job placement for blacks." (Pg. 120)
"To say that race is declining in significance, therefore, is not only to argue that the life chances of blacks have less to do with race than with economic class affiliation but also to maintain that racial conflict and competition in the economic sector ... have been substantially reduced." (Pg. 152)
"The point to be underlined, therefore, is that a correct explanation of the overall decline in black family income since 1969 must include the fact that the proportion of black families with female heads has correspondingly increased during this period." (Pg. 158)
"The essential point is that a serious effort to address the issue of the exploding number of black female-headed families, and therefore the decreasing percentage of black children living with both parents... requires that we do not define the matter solely in terms of race." (Pg. 160)
"It cannot be overemphasized that liberal programs such as affirmative action ... are not really designed to deal with barriers to desirable jobs that are the result of the use of increasing automation, the relocation of industries, the segmentation of the labor market, and the shift from goods-producing to service-producing industries. These are the problems to which the black poor, other minority poor, and the white poor are especially vulnerable." (Pg. 179)

The book was delivered as advertised. William J. Wilson is one of the most well written academics of his time. I want to try to glean as much knowledge from him as possible. You will never be disappointed with his view of politics and the solutions to correcting history. You may disagree, however, at least he offers an alternative to the status quo.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews  4.0 out of 5 stars