After 121 Years, It’s Time to Recognize W.E.B. Du Bois as a Founding Father of Social Epidemiology

• Published in: The Journal of Negro education Vol. 87; no. 3; pp. 230 - 245
• Main Authors: Jones-Eversley, Sharon D, Dean, Lorraine T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington The Journal of Negro Education 2018; Journal of Negro Education; Howard University School of Education; Howard University, School of Divinity
• Subjects: 19th century; African Americans; Attrition (Research Studies); Black Power movement; Classism; Critical Theory; Cultural differences; Death; Double consciousness; Du Bois, W E B (1868-1963); Economic Factors; Education; Environment; Environmental Influences; Epidemiology; Ethnic Groups; Fathers; Health; Health Behavior; Health disparities; Health Services; History; Mortality; Public Health; Race; Racial Bias; Racial Differences; Racial inequality; Racism; Recognition (Achievement); Risk; Science; Segregation; Social Class; Social Differences; Social research; Social Science Research; Social sciences; Social Scientists; Sociology; Whites; Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); United States > US; Maryland
• ISSN: 0022-2984; 2167-6437
• DOI: 10.7709/JNEGROEDUCATION.87.3.0230

Some sociologists referred to W.E.B. Du Bois, a 19th century sociologist, as the founding father of American Sociology due to his trailblazing social science research, The Philadelphia Negro. However, The Philadelphia Negro globally revolutionized social science and epidemiological research that expands far beyond sociology and the United States. This study, which was groundbreaking for its era in its implication of social, spatial, intercultural, and intracultural health determinants, authenticated the existence of racial disparities and how systemic inequalities impact health. Du Bois was a social epidemiology frontrunner, yet compared to his contemporaries, acknowledgment of his global contributions to social epidemiology has been practically mute. It is time that Du Bois and Duboisian research are fully acknowledged in the social epidemiology field.