The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study [Paperback]

W. E. B. Du Bois (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998 | ISBN-10: 0812216903 | ISBN-13: 978-0812216905

Originally published in 1899, The Philadelphia Negro is a sociological study of the blacks living in Philadelphia in 1896-7. DuBois was hired by the University of Pennsylvania to conduct the study, under what some believe to be false pretenses. Some suspect that the study was meant, by those funding it, to show how the black community was responsible for a number of problems within the city. The report they received, however, was of quite a different nature. The Philadelphia Negro was the first sociological study of black urban Americans ever conducted. It detailed their lives, their social structures, their education, their marriages, and their jobs. The study sought to illuminate ways in which philanthropy could help the people living in Philadelphia's Seventh Ward. It did not presume, as many people did at the time, that blacks lived in poor conditions due to an innate weakness in their race. This scholarly work serves as an excellent reference for students of history and sociology. American writer, civil rights activist, and scholar WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DUBOIS (1868-1963) was the first black man to receive a PhD from Harvard University. A cofounder of the NAACP, he wrote a number of important books, including Black Folk, Then and Now (1899) and The Negro (1915).

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A credit to American scholarship. . . . It is the sort of book of which we have too few, and of which it is impossible that one should have too many."—from the Yale Review, May 1900

"What made Du Bois's study remarkable in its day was its rejection of prevailing assumptions of inherent racial differences, thus bearing on issues much wider than those indicated by its title. It is also notable as a thoroughly modern piece of social research. The problems faced by Philadelphia's blacks, he argued, had nothing to do with their supposed racial proclivities, but derived from the way they had been treated in the past and their relegation in the present to the most menial and lowest-paying jobs."—Times Literary Supplement

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Elijah Anderson is Charles and William L. Day Professor of Social Science, and Professor of Sociology, at the University of Pennsylvania. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812216903
• ISBN-13: 978-0812216905
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,462,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sociological Ground Breaker, March 11, 2003

By 

FAYE L ALLARD (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (Paperback)

Read this book! Not only was "The Philadelphia Negro" a groundbreaking piece of sociological research in its day (the late 19th century), the book also goes a long way to explain the historical roots of much of what we see today in Philadelphia and other cities in America. Organized simply and effectively into clear chapters, we learn how African Americans really lived in Philadelphia after emancipation; detailing family and household arrangements, employment, education, health and religion. Elijah Anderson's introduction is a fantastic bonus, helping to illuminate the book even more. Everyone living in Philadelphia should read this!

4.0 out of 5 stars Importance of Philadelphia Negro Study, September 10, 2011

By 

TodTutor - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (Paperback)

This of course is a seminal study, but was extremely enlightening since we don't realize that a number of African Americans were free and living in urban settings with their own insular communities and organizations. Although it is filled with graphs and staid sociological comments it is an important lens on life among negroes 1840-1880's.