Crisis & Opportunity

Forgotten sociology.

Crisis & Opportunity is a compilation of largely-forgotten works by Black scholars from the early decades of sociology. These articles offer valuable insights into the evolution of sociology and its relevance to current social issues. Many of the selected works have been previously hard to access or ignored, and their republication aims to promote a more diverse and inclusive understanding of the discipline’s history.

Articles printed in Crisis & Opportunity reflect the interdisciplinary nature of early sociology, with sociologists publishing in a variety of outlets and scholars not formally trained in sociology publishing work in sociology journals or in dialogue with sociologists.

For an overview of Black sociology during this period, see Earl Wright’s Jim Crow Sociology: The Black and Southern Roots of American Sociology and Alford A. Young, Jr. and Donald R. Deskins, Jr.’s “Early Traditions of African-American Sociological Thought.”

The name Crisis & Opportunity is inspired by two prominent periodicals founded and edited by Black sociologists in the early part of the twentieth century. W.E. B. Du Bois founded The Crisis, the official journal of the NAACP, in 1910 and was its editor until 1934. Charles S. Johnson, sociologist and later president of Fisk University, edited Opportunity, the official journal of the National Urban League, founded by George Edmund Haynes, later a sociology professor at Fisk.

Given the prominence of W.E. B. Du Bois today, this compilation prioritizes republishing works by other Black scholars.

Images on the front page are cropped versions of work created by African American artist during the first half of the twentieth century. Credits for each are visible if you hover over the image.

Each article on this site is believed to be in the public domain. Feel free to copy, share, repurpose, and remix. All works published more than 95 years ago are now in the public domain, and many academic articles from the 1930s and 1940s did not have their copyright renewed. If you think we’ve made a mistake, let me know.

Crisis & Opportunity is edited by Neal Caren. Please contact let me if you would like to be involved.