W. E. B. Du Bois was a public intellectual, sociologist, and activist on behalf of the African American community. He profoundly shaped black political culture in the United States through his founding role in the NAACP, as well as internationally through the Pan-African movement. Du Bois's sociological and historical research on African-American communities and culture broke ground in many areas, including the history of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. Du Bois was also a prolific author of novels, autobiographical accounts, innumerable editorials and journalistic pieces, and several works of history.
First published in 1899 at the dawn of sociology, The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study is a landmark in empirical sociological research. Du Bois was the first sociologist to document the living circumstances of urban Black Americans. The Philadelphia Negro provides a framework for studying black communities, and it has steadily grown in importance since its original publication. Today, it is an indispensable model for sociologists, historians, political scientists, anthropologists, educators, philosophers, and urban studies scholars. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Lawrence Bobo, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history and sociology.

Series Introduction: The Black Letters on the Sign
Introduction
I: The Scope of the Study
1. General Aim
2. The Methods of Inquiry
3. The Credibility of the Results
II. The Problem
4. The Negro Problems of Philadelphia
5. Plan of Presentment
III. The Negro in Philadelphia, 1638-1820
6. General Survey
7. The Transplanting of the Negro, 1638-1760
8. Emancipation, 1760-1780
9. The Rise of the Freedmen, 1780-1820
IV. The Negro in Philadelphia, 1820-1896
10. Fugitives and Foreigners, 1820-1840
11. The Guild of the Caterers, 1840-1870
12. The Influx of the Freedmen, 1870-1896
V. The Size, Age and Sex of the Negro Population
13. The City for a Century
14. The Seventh Ward, 1896
VI. Conjugal Condition
15. The Seventh Ward
16. The City
VII. Sources of the Negro Population
17. The Seventh Ward
18. The City
VIII. Education and Illiteracy
19. The History of Negro Education
20. The Present Condition
IX. The Occupations of Negros
21. The Question of Earning a Living
22. Occupations in the Seventh Ward
23. Occupations in the City
24. History of the Occupations of Negroes
X. The Health of Negros
25. The Interpretation of Statistics
26. The Statistics of the City
XI. The Negro Family
27. The Size of the Family
28. Incomes
29. Property
30. Family Life
XII. The Organized Life of Negros
31. History of the Negro Church in Philadelphia
32. The Function of the Negro Church
33. The Present Condition of the Churches
34. Secret and Beneficial Societies, and Co-operative Business
35. Institutions
36. The Experiment of Organization
XIII. The Negro Criminal
37. History of Negro Crime in the City
38. Negro Crime Since the War
39. A Special Study in Crime
40. Some Cases of Crime
XIV. Pauperism and Alcoholism
41. Pauperism
42. The Drink Habit
43. The Causes of Crime and Poverty
XV. The Environment of the Negro
44. Houses and Rent
45. Sections and Wards
46. Social Classes and Amusements
XVI. The Contact of the Races
47. Color Prejudice
48. Benevolence
49. The Intermarriage of the Races
XVII. Negro Suffrage
50. The Significance of the Experiment
51. The History of Negro Suffrage in Pennsylvania
52. City Politics
53. Some Bad Results of Negro Suffrage
54. Some Good Results of Negro Suffrage
55. The Paradox of Reform
XVIII. A Final Word
56. The Meaning of All This
57. The Duty of the Negroes
58. The Duty of the Whites
Appendix A. Schedules used in the House-to-House Inquiry
Appendix B. Legislation, etc., of Pennsylvania in Regard to the Negro
Appendix C. Bibliography
Index
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: A Chronology
Selected Bibliography

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He has edited several major reference works, including Dictionary of African Biography, African American Lives, Africana, and African American National Biography. In addition, he is Editor in Chief of the Oxford African American Studies Center (www.oxfordaasc.com).