The Persistence of White Sociology

Anti-blackness is so deeply woven into the fabric of social science that it often goes unchallenged, persisting quietly within the production of knowledge. Consequently, anti-Black normativity coupled with the ontological principle of human racial distinction is baked into the social sciences, making it foundational to the development of social scientific concepts and theories. Attempts to challenge these fundamental racist principles in the social sciences are met with disapproval. This book explores the ways sociology attempts to mask and excise its blackness. It considers how white sociology as a hegemonic set of ideas and practices serves political ends.

Is it possible for sociology to undo its anti-blackness while acknowledging its complicity in facilitating anti-Black racism? Author Johnny E. Williams contend that anti-blackness cannot be effectively uprooted solely through the application of anti-racism and anti-whiteness frames, theories, and methods. These approaches are insufficient because their modifications often perpetuate the same white sociology that they purportedly aim to eliminate. White sociology instantiates and elaborates itself through the guise of anti-racism and inclusiveness so that its anti-blackness goes unquestioned. This concealment necessitates the rethinking of sociology beyond the strictures of white sociology.