The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions

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. In arriving at this conclusion, I have been careful to recognize the manner in which economic and political changes have gradually shaped a black class structure, making it increasingly difficult to speak of a single or uniform black experience." Enjoy the book and have a great day.

I read this book in college. I think it is a fascinating proposition that economic class is more significant than race. I haven't read this book in 10+ years, but it is a compelling theory especially when you consider it was written 25+ years ago.