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The Declining Significance of Race : Blacks and Changing American Institutions 2nd Edition

3.8 out of 5 stars 7 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0226901299
ISBN-10: 0226901297
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 251 pages
  • Publisher: University of Chicago Press; 2 edition (December 15, 1980)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226901297
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226901299
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

By Thomas Tenerelli on November 12, 2006
Format: 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.Read more ›
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Format: Paperback
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.
Read more ›
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Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
William J. Wilson is a provocative writer and his ideas offer fresh insight into racial issues. He tries to sell the idea that race is not as important as class. Although racial issues are still an issue, class-based discrimination occurs much more often than racial discrimination does. To fully understand his ideas - read the book. He discusses how class issues have risen from racial issues and how discrimination on race is illegal while class discrimination is not.
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By Ji on May 8, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
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.
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