The Matter of Black Lives

“Sociologists who study black America have a name for these camps: those who emphasize the role of institutional racism and economic circumstances are known as structuralists, while those who emphasize the importance of self-perpetuating norms and behaviors are known as culturalists.”

“Moynihan had stumbled into a quandary familiar to sociologists: sometimes your subject doesn’t want to be subjectified.”

“n 1978, William Julius Wilson popularized the term “underclass,” to describe the non-working poor who have been left behind by the disappearance of blue-collar jobs”

“Anderson’s “Code of the Street” was influential because it was widely read, and it was widely read because it often resembled a novel, full of complicated people and pungent testimonials. (One “decent” woman’s account of raising five children had a nine-word opening sentence that no writing workshop could have improved: “My son that’s bad now—his name is Curtis.”)”

“The crucial question is not whether the state has the “moral standing” to reform cultural practices in the ghetto but whether it has the ability.”

“There is a paradox at the heart of cultural sociology, which both seeks to explain behavior in broad, categorical terms and promises to respect its subjects’ autonomy and intelligence. The results can be deflating, as the researchers find that their subjects are not stupid or crazy or heroic or transcendent—their cultural traditions just don’t seem peculiar enough to answer the questions that motivate the research.”