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REASSESSING “TOWARD A THEORY OF RACE, CRIME, AND URBAN INEQUALITY”

Enduring and New Challenges in 21st Century America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2018

Robert J. Sampson ,
William Julius Wilson  and
Hanna Katz
Robert J. Sampson*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Harvard University
William Julius Wilson
Affiliation:
Kennedy School, and Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University
Hanna Katz
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Harvard University
*
*Corresponding author: Robert J. Sampson, Department of Sociology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138. E-mail: rsampson@wjh.harvard.edu
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Abstract

In “Toward a Theory of Race, Crime, and Urban Inequality,” Sampson and Wilson (1995) argued that racial disparities in violent crime are attributable in large part to the persistent structural disadvantages that are disproportionately concentrated in African American communities. They also argued that the ultimate causes of crime were similar for both Whites and Blacks, leading to what has been labeled the thesis of “racial invariance.” In light of the large scale social changes of the past two decades and the renewed political salience of race and crime in the United States, this paper reassesses and updates evidence evaluating the theory. In so doing, we clarify key concepts from the original thesis, delineate the proper context of validation, and address new challenges. Overall, we find that the accumulated empirical evidence provides broad but qualified support for the theoretical claims. We conclude by charting a dual path forward: an agenda for future research on the linkages between race and crime, and policy recommendations that align with the theory’s emphasis on neighborhood level structural forces but with causal space for cultural factors.

Keywords

InequalityViolenceRacial InvarianceCommunityStructural Disadvantage
Type
Understanding Race, Crime, and Justice in The Twenty-First Century
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , Spring 2018 , pp. 13 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2018 

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