Community and Urban Sociology

Urban Processes Under Racial Capitalism

Special Issue

City & Community

Guest Editors:

• Prentiss A. Dantzler, Georgia State University
• Junia Howell, University of Pittsburgh
• Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, University of New Mexico

For over a century, urban sociologists have attempted to disentangle the role race and class play in shaping city spaces and urban lives. However, Black scholars have challenged this dichotomy, arguing race and class are mutually constituted forms of exploitation. In his pioneering book, Black Marxism, the late historian Cedric J. Robinson argues racism was fundamental to the feudal order of early capitalism and has remained foundational in all constructions of class. Seminal works like W.E.B. Du Bois’ (1935) Black Reconstruction and more recent books like Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s (2019) Race for Profit echo Robinson’s approach arguing economic value is derived from the racialization of labor and property. Yet, urban sociology has not fully explored how racial capitalism changes and reshapes our core theoretical approaches.

The aim of this special issue is to present original papers that employ racial capitalism within urban processes to extend, challenge, or refine theories of and methods for understanding cities and communities. We welcome both theoretical and empirical papers that challenge canonical theories of urbanization processes, employ critical methodologies to unpack how capitalism infuses race (among other constructs) as a modality for value extraction, and engage the relationship between racial capitalism and other institutions within and between communities. Authors are encouraged to investigate how and to what extent value is derived from the racialization of people and places within and between urban spaces. Topics can include, but are not limited to, foci on land, housing, education, criminal justice, labor, and the environment. We especially encourage scholars from underrepresented backgrounds to submit their work.

Procedure and Timeline:

• Abstracts of 250 words are due by February 1, 2021. Authors must submit Abstracts directly to the guest editors.
• Invitations to submit full papers will be issued by March 1, 2021.
• Full papers will be due by May 1, 2021.

o   Authors must submit full papers directly to City & Community and follow the journal’s submission guidelines: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/city-community/journal203714#editorial-board.

o   To be considered for publication, all papers will be subject to the journal’s standard peer-review process.     

For more information, and to submit an Abstract, please contact the guest editors:

• Prentiss A. Dantzler: pdantzler@gsu.edu
• Junia Howell: juniahowell@pitt.edu
• Elizabeth Korver-Glenn: ekg@unm.edu