ABSTRACT

As both implied and stated throughout this refl ective examination of the Blacks in sociological thought, intellectual reasoning is not only the articulation of thinking. When linked to the actions of affl uent classes, status populations, institutions, communities, and networks, intellectual reasoning becomes a profound power and privilege issue. This is why no matter the knowledge base-theology, magic, science, or technology-every ruling population includes men and women of knowledge who create and reinforce the legitimacy of societal privileges enjoyed by those in power. It is also why from the standpoints of economic sociology and the political sociology of education, when we think about the history of and current trends in societal inequality, we cannot help but discuss issues of exclusion and oppression in intellectual knowledge production’s processes and structures.