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American sociology has long engaged with race, a critical and explosive issue interwoven in various aspects of American life.
Extensive scholarship has sought to address race relations, particularly between Black and white Americans, recognizing the study of race is never neutral due to its ties to power, inequality, and oppression.

James McKee's Analysis
- Conducted an extensive interrogation of sociological literature on race from the early 1900s to the 1970s.
- Concluded American sociology's perspective on race failed prior to the Civil Rights Movement because the theories and findings did not align with societal realities.
- Noted, no American sociologists foresaw the Civil Rights Movement or the urban rebellions of the late 1960s, attributing this oversight to blind spots within the field's scholarship.
Root of the Failure
- McKee argued that the theories portrayed a Black populace that did not exist, leading to a misrepresentation and misunderstanding of actual race dynamics.
- The predominant assumption of Black inferiority among white sociologists profoundly impacted scholarship, distorting perspectives on race relations and perpetuating faulty narratives.

Rejection of Inferiority Thesis
- Du Bois categorically opposed the idea of Black inferiority, arguing that Black individuals were full members of humanity, shaped by culture and society.
- Created a nuanced representation of Black culture and rejected assimilation as the sole path to salvation for Blacks.
Agency and Research
- Attributed agency to Black communities and conducted groundbreaking research to substantiate it.
- Criticized prevailing portrayals of whites in sociology which exaggerated their agency while simultaneously distorting realities about Black agency.
Public Sociology
- Du Bois viewed sociology as an avenue for social change rather than detached, scientific objective reporting.
- Became a public intellectual actively engaging in social reforms through his scholarship, contrasted with Chicago School's approach.

The inferiority and cultural deficiency frameworks led sociology to misunderstand the state of race relations.
White sociologists' perspectives hindered the exploration of genuine Black agency, often relegating Blacks to subordinate roles.
Prevailing analyses were incapable of anticipating collective actions such as the Civil Rights Movement.

By the 1920s, findings began shifting away from overt biological inferiority to cultural determinants.
However, cultural inferiority replaced biological narratives without truly liberating Black identities from oppressive frameworks.

Sociology's founding during the early 20th century ignored the contributions of Du Bois, despite his significant early studies on race.
The Chicago School's framework dominated, sidelining Du Bois's earlier insights and substantial contributions to race studies.

Despite past marginalization, Du Bois's work re-emerges in today's race scholarship, facilitating discussions on intersectionality among race, class, and gender.
Current sociologists increasingly recognize the interlinkages of global inequalities, influenced by Du Bois's enduring legacy.

W. E. B. Du Bois produced groundbreaking insights into race and social inequalities that have reshaped the discourse in sociology over the past century.
Acknowledging his influential role highlights the need for ongoing evaluation of racial assumptions in contemporary scholarship.
The neglect of Du Boisian thought illustrates how academic politics can obstruct the acceptance of transformative ideas that challenge dominant paradigms in sociology.