Was There A Black Chicago School?

Little has been written on the importance of black sociology at the University of Chicago. While Chicago had been a scene of segregated dormitories, fraternities and social clubs, the few black students who attended the University of Chicago's graduate program in sociology excelled and became important international figures. Many came under the strong influence of teachers such as Robert E. Park, Ernest Burgess, W. Lloyd Warner and Louis Wirth. At Chicago's premier graduate program in sociology Charles S. Johnson, E. Franklin Frasier, Allison Davis, Hyland Lewis, Horace Cayton and St. Clair Drake were among those to do groundbreaking work on the black urban experience. Interestingly only one of the aforementioned ever held a full-time academic post at the University despite that academy's progressive leanings and pioneering ventures into the study of race relations. In a way all were exiles.Does the work of this group share common elements? In what way does their work reflect Chicago school sociology? Why has it been critically neglected and excluded from the traditional image of Chicago school scholarship? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]