title: W. E. B. Du Bois at the center: from science, civil rights movement, to Black Lives Matter.
abstract: I am honoured to present the 2016 British Journal of Sociology Annual Lecture at the London School of Economics. My lecture is based on ideas derived from my new book, The Scholar Denied: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology. In this essay I make three arguments. First, W.E.B. Du Bois and his Atlanta School of Sociology pioneered scientific sociology in the United States. Second, Du Bois pioneered a public sociology that creatively combined sociology and activism. Finally, Du Bois pioneered a politically engaged social science relevant for contemporary political struggles including the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University.
authors.forename: Aldon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D002961:Civil Rights; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D063505:Racism; D012919:Social Behavior; D066269:Social Theory; D012961:Sociology / Q000193:education / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods; D014495:Universities
keywords: Atlanta School; W. E. B. Du Bois; scientific sociology; sociological discrimination and marginalization; sociological theory