ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how author's biographical location led to questioning mainstream accounts of the social construction of the profession. It discusses four projects to show how this research method emerged from the people and topics author analyze. The Veil and Gendered Veil of sociology distort and hide the contributions of African Americans to the society, community, and world. Historical, archival methods, combined with experiential understanding from phenomenology and political activism, can help people transcend these barriers to understanding the history of black sociologists. Michael Hill calls the first stage of collecting, tossing, and sorting material by the owner the 'primary sedimentation'. The 'secondary sedimentation' of intentionally collecting, tossing, and sorting material for an archive by the recipient or after the death of the original owner is the next crucial step. The final sorting and filing, the 'tertiary sedimentation', occurs at the archive.
