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* Corresponding author: Robert J. Sampson, Department of Sociology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138. E-mail: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION
Just over twenty-two years ago, we published “Toward a Theory of Race, Crime, and Urban Inequality” (Sampson and Wilson, 1995). As stated in the first sentence of that paper, our motivation was to “address one of the most central yet difficult issues facing criminology—race and violent crime” (p. 37). As further indicated by the title, this effort was first and foremost theoretical, relying on overarching assumptions, introducing theoretical concepts to make sense of empirical findings, and presenting testable hypotheses.1
The current paper reassesses and updates the theory in light of evidence that has accumulated since 1995. We also address new empirical challenges and chart a path forward in the form of a research agenda. At the time of our original publication, we expressed dismay that “the discussion of race and crime is mired in an unproductive mix of controversy and silence” (Sampson and Wilson, 1995, p. 37). Although controversy continues, we are gratified that there is no longer silence on these matters. The past two decades have witnessed an upsurge in empirical studies that have explicitly or implicitly tested the theoretical tenets of what has come to be known as the thesis of “racial invariance”—the assertion that racial disparities in rates of violent crime ultimately stem from the very different social ecological contexts in which Blacks and Whites reside, and that concentrated disadvantage predicts crime similarly across racial groups.
We are motivated to revisit the racial invariance thesis for more than just intellectual reasons, however. Important social changes and political realities bear heavily on any contemporary discussion of race. Indeed, in the summer of 2017, the nation became embroiled once again in ferocious debates over race and racism. A full-throated defense of White supremacy, for example, is no longer merely a relic of the past. Race, crime, and concentrated disadvantage have also framed the recent push for criminal justice reform. These frames are most visible in the Black Lives Matter movement’s focus on the policing crisis, and in bipartisan opposition to the unprecedented and racially tinged mass incarceration of the last few decades. Moreover, we are motivated to consider other major social changes from the...