ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to an analysis of W.E.B. Du Bois’s groundbreaking work The Philadelphia Negro (1899). After reviewing the crime-related discussions devoted to the Black population in Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, I argue that Du Bois pioneered a Black Criminology. In particular, Du Bois discussed the central role of race discrimination in Black offending and the rise of racial disparities in the justice system. Methodologically, Du Bois’s study represents both the first urban ethnography and the first comprehensive study of a Black community. In addition, his seminal study includes the use of social ecology to understand the nature and scope of crime throughout the Black community. This chapter also discusses the reasons why Du Bois would have supported the development of a Black Criminology. The chapter concludes by reviewing the myriad of possible reasons why Du Bois is not considered a central figure in the development of American criminology.
