The Philadelphia Negro (1899) by W. E. B. Du Bois is a landmark in urban sociology and critical criminology. This pioneering study analyzes the social and economic conditions of African Americans in Philadelphia, revealing how segregation, institutional discrimination, and poverty contribute to crime and inequality. Combining empirical research with sharp theoretical insight, Du Bois challenges racist explanations for crime and offers one of the first comprehensive sociological accounts of urban life and social exclusion.
In his examination of the African American population of Philadelphia, Du Bois combines empirical social research with theoretical analysis of the social structures that shape poverty, marginalization, and crime. His work marks a key starting point for urban sociology and critical criminology. Especially noteworthy is his early investigation of segregation and its impact on crime and social inequality.
Key Points
W. E. B. Du Bois – The Philadelphia Negro
Cornelius Marion Battey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Main Author: W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)
First Published: 1899
Country: USA
Key Idea: Du Bois analyzes the social and economic conditions of Philadelphia’s African American population, identifying the structural roots of crime and social inequality. He addresses the effects of segregation and institutional discrimination.
Foundation for: Later work on social inequality, segregation, and critical criminology. Elijah Anderson’s influential study „Code of the Street„, also set in Philadelphia, can be seen as a continuation of Du Bois’s analysis.
Historical and Scholarly Context
Du Bois wrote The Philadelphia Negro at the end of the 19th century for the University of Pennsylvania. The goal was to study the social and economic situation of the city’s African American community. Du Bois combined quantitative methods—a systematic census and statistical surveys—with qualitative interviews to create a comprehensive picture of social conditions.
His research took place during an era when racial segregation and systematic discrimination were deeply entrenched in American society. Du Bois exposed the social roots of crime and poverty, rooted in structural disadvantage, limited access to education and employment, and racist exclusion. This analysis later shaped the development of theories on social inequality and critical criminology.
Racial Segregation in the USA
Racial segregation in the United States refers to the systematic separation of Black and White populations in nearly all areas of public and private life. This separation was especially entrenched in the Southern states after the American Civil War (1861–1865) and was institutionalized through a series of laws known as the Jim Crow Laws.
Although slavery was formally abolished by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865, African Americans remained de facto socially and legally disadvantaged. From the 1870s onward, the Jim Crow laws mandated that Black and White people live separately, affecting schools, public transportation, restaurants, hospitals, and even drinking fountains. The „separate but equal“ doctrine, upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), legitimized this segregation for decades.
It was only through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s—led by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa ParksRosa Parks (1913–2005) was an African American civil rights activist who became a symbol of resistance against racial segregation after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955.—that legal segregation was gradually dismantled. Landmark decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared school segregation unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally introduced broad legal protections to end formal segregation and secure civil rights for African Americans.
Despite the abolition of legal segregation, its consequences remain visible to this day. Many cities and communities in the U.S. continue to show high levels of spatial and social separation along racial lines (de facto segregation), reflected in education, housing, and economic opportunities.
Key Findings: Crime, Poverty, and Segregation
Social Inequality and Institutional Discrimination
Du Bois argues that poverty and crime are not the result of individual moral failings but are products of systematic social exclusion and economic marginalization. He demonstrates that structural disadvantages—such as lack of access to jobs and education—create environments in affected neighborhoods where crime becomes a means of survival. Through his empirical research, Du Bois shows that high crime rates in African American neighborhoods cannot be attributed to ethnicity or culture but stem from social conditions and institutional discrimination.
In Philadelphia, as elsewhere in the United States, the existence of certain peculiar social problems affecting the Negro people are plainly manifest. Here is a large group of people perhaps forty-five thousand, a city within a city who do not form an integral part of the larger social group. This in itself is not altogether unusual; there are other unassimilated groups: Jews, Italians, even Americans; and yet in the case of the Negroes the segregation is more conspicuous, more patent to the eye, and so intertwined with a long historic evolution, with peculiarly pressing social problems of poverty, ignorance, crime and labor, that the Negro problem far surpasses in scientific interest and social gravity most of the other race or class questions.
(Du Bois, 1967, p. 5)
Segregation as Social Control
A central focus of his study is the spatial separation of African Americans from White residents. This segregation not only leads to social isolation but also blocks access to participation in society and economic advancement. Du Bois describes how this form of social control through spatial separation fosters crime, as segregated neighborhoods have less oversight from state institutions like the police or social services. At the same time, isolation encourages the development of subcultures that help stabilize community life but can also reinforce marginalization.
Institutional Discrimination
Du Bois critiques the structural barriers that deny African Americans in Philadelphia access to education, healthcare, and employment. This systematic disadvantage not only entrenches social inequalities but also ensures that many residents remain stuck in precarious jobs or unemployment. For Du Bois, these institutional mechanisms are deliberate forms of structural discrimination designed to maintain African Americans in economic dependency. This in turn exacerbates both poverty and crime within these communities.
Cultural Stigmatization and Racism
Another central theme of his analysis is the cultural stigmatization of African Americans. Du Bois shows how racist prejudices and societal stereotypes label African Americans as “criminal” or “socially deviant” regardless of their actual behavior. These labels deepen social isolation and block economic and social advancement. Du Bois describes this process as a self-reinforcing mechanism that perpetuates both social exclusion and criminalization.
Parallels to Elijah Anderson’s Code of the Street
Elijah Anderson builds on Du Bois’s analysis a century later in his ethnographic study Code of the Street (1999). While Du Bois describes the social isolation and structural disadvantage of African American communities in 19th-century Philadelphia, Anderson shows how this isolation persists into the present day. The „Code of the Street“ emerges as a response to social inequality, discrimination, and lack of state protection in urban areas. Anderson explains how alternative norms of self-defense and respect develop as survival strategies—phenomena Du Bois already identified as forms of social control in segregated neighborhoods.
Methodology and Empirical Research
Du Bois employed what was then an innovative empirical research method:
- Quantitative survey: Conducted a census in African American neighborhoods, collecting detailed statistical data on income, education, family structure, and crime.
- Qualitative interviews: Conducted in-depth interviews with residents to better understand social structures and personal experiences.
- Cartographic representation: Used maps to visualize social inequalities, making housing conditions and social problem areas visible.
Critique and Reception
While The Philadelphia Negro is now seen as a landmark of urban sociology, it received little attention in Du Bois’s own time. In particular, his socially critical perspective on racism and structural inequality met with resistance in academia. It was only later, with the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, that his work was rediscovered and recognized as a pioneering achievement in critical social research.
Contemporary Relevance and Significance
Du Bois’s analysis has lost none of its relevance. Issues such as social segregation, racism, and the structural roots of crime remain central in criminological research. His integration of empirical research and theoretical analysis continues to serve as a model for contemporary social science.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is The Philadelphia Negro by W. E. B. Du Bois about?
It is a landmark 1899 study examining the social and economic conditions of African Americans in Philadelphia. Du Bois analyzes how segregation and institutional discrimination create poverty and crime.
Why is The Philadelphia Negro important in sociology?
It is one of the first empirical sociological studies of urban life, pioneering methods that combined statistics, mapping, and interviews to analyze inequality and segregation.
How did Du Bois study crime and poverty?
Du Bois used census data, statistical analysis, interviews, and maps to show that crime was linked to structural social inequality, not inherent racial traits.
References
- Du Bois, W. E. B. (1899). The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Du Bois, W. E. B. (1967). The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. Schocken Books.
- Morris, A. (2015). The Scholar Denied: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology. University of California Press.
- Shapiro, T. M. (2004). The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. Oxford University Press.
