To follow the career of William Julius Wilson is to trace the evolution of the national conversation on race and class in America over the past half century.

That was the overarching theme of the first full day of a three-day symposium celebrating the career of the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor Emeritus at the Knafel Center on Thursday.

Social scientists have long understood that a child’s environment — in particular growing up in poverty — can have long-lasting effects on their success later in life. What’s less well understood is exactly how. A new Harvard study is beginning to pry open that black box.

Black People Are Not All ‘Living in Hell’ Read more about William Julius Wilson's research highlighted in NYT op-ed by Thomas B. Edsall

What’s the Matter With Trumpland? Read more about William Julius Wilson's research highlighted in NYT op-ed by Paul Krugman

The wage gap between white and black men is growing wider Read more about William Julius Wilson's research highlighted in The Economist

It is hard to overstate the importance of the new study on intergenerational racial disparities by Raj Chetty and his colleagues at the Equality of Opportunity Project. Simply put, it will change the way we think the world works.

Reassessing “Toward a Theory of Race, Crime, and Urban Inequality”: Enduring and New Challenges in 21st Century America Read more about Robert J. Sampson, William Julius Wilson, and Hanna Katz in the Du Bois Review

Urban mobility and neighborhood isolation in America’s 50 largest cities

• Article as Featured in Science Magazine
• Article as Featured in CityLab.com

A center at Harvard University devoted to the study of people of African descent has received a $10 million donation from its namesake, financier Glenn Hutchins, to research poverty, inequality, and race among residents in Greater Boston's most impoverished neighborhoods.

William Julius Wilson talks about new research that will study race and adversity. And Glenn Hutchins, North Island chairman talks about funding the project through the Hutchins Family Foundation.