The Philadelphia Negro (The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois)

W. E. B. Du Bois was a public intellectual, sociologist, and activist on behalf of the African American community. He profoundly shaped black political culture in the United States through his founding role in the NAACP, as well as internationally through the Pan-African movement. Du Bois's sociological and historical research on African-American communities and culture broke ground in many areas, including the history of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. Du Bois was also a prolific author of novels, autobiographical accounts, innumerable editorials and journalistic pieces, and several works of history. First published in 1899 at the dawn of sociology, The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study is a landmark in empirical sociological research. Du Bois was the first sociologist to document the living circumstances of urban Black Americans. The Philadelphia Negro provides a framework for studying black communities, and it has steadily grown in importance since its original publication. Today, it is an indispensable model for sociologists, historians, political scientists, anthropologists, educators, philosophers, and urban studies scholars. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Lawrence Bobo, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history and sociology.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He has edited several major reference works, including Dictionary of African Biography, African American Lives, Africana, and African American National Biography. In addition, he is Editor in Chief of the Oxford African American Studies Center (www.oxfordaasc.com).

Series Introduction: The Black Letters on the Sign Introduction I: The Scope of the Study 1. General Aim 2. The Methods of Inquiry 3. The Credibility of the Results II. The Problem 4. The Negro Problems of Philadelphia 5. Plan of Presentment III. The Negro in Philadelphia, 1638-1820 6. General Survey 7. The Transplanting of the Negro, 1638-1760 8. Emancipation, 1760-1780 9. The Rise of the Freedmen, 1780-1820 IV. The Negro in Philadelphia, 1820-1896 10. Fugitives and Foreigners, 1820-1840 11. The Guild of the Caterers, 1840-1870 12. The Influx of the Freedmen, 1870-1896 V. The Size, Age and Sex of the Negro Population 13. The City for a Century 14. The Seventh Ward, 1896 VI. Conjugal Condition 15. The Seventh Ward 16. The City VII. Sources of the Negro Population 17. The Seventh Ward 18. The City VIII. Education and Illiteracy 19. The History of Negro Education 20. The Present Condition IX. The Occupations of Negros 21. The Question of Earning a Living 22. Occupations in the Seventh Ward 23. Occupations in the City 24. History of the Occupations of Negroes X. The Health of Negros 25. The Interpretation of Statistics 26. The Statistics of the City XI. The Negro Family 27. The Size of the Family 28. Incomes 29. Property 30. Family Life XII. The Organized Life of Negros 31. History of the Negro Church in Philadelphia 32. The Function of the Negro Church 33. The Present Condition of the Churches 34. Secret and Beneficial Societies, and Co-operative Business 35. Institutions 36. The Experiment of Organization XIII. The Negro Criminal 37. History of Negro Crime in the City 38. Negro Crime Since the War 39. A Special Study in Crime 40. Some Cases of Crime XIV. Pauperism and Alcoholism 41. Pauperism 42. The Drink Habit 43. The Causes of Crime and Poverty XV. The Environment of the Negro 44. Houses and Rent 45. Sections and Wards 46. Social Classes and Amusements XVI. The Contact of the Races 47. Color Prejudice 48. Benevolence 49. The Intermarriage of the Races XVII. Negro Suffrage 50. The Significance of the Experiment 51. The History of Negro Suffrage in Pennsylvania 52. City Politics 53. Some Bad Results of Negro Suffrage 54. Some Good Results of Negro Suffrage 55. The Paradox of Reform XVIII. A Final Word 56. The Meaning of All This 57. The Duty of the Negroes 58. The Duty of the Whites Appendix A. Schedules used in the House-to-House Inquiry Appendix B. Legislation, etc., of Pennsylvania in Regard to the Negro Appendix C. Bibliography Index William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: A Chronology Selected Bibliography