W.E.B. Du Bois Launches Atlanta University Studies

W.E.B. Du Bois joined Atlanta University and began his landmark series of sociological studies on Black American life, applying rigorous empirical methods to document the conditions, achievements, and aspirations of African Americans. The Atlanta University Studies, published annually from 1896 to 1914, represented the first systematic social-scientific study of Black American communities. Du Bois essentially founded the discipline of American sociology as applied to race.