Elliot Liebow (1925–1994) was an American urban anthropologist and

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

. His works include '' Tally's Corner'' and ''Tell Them Who I Am'', both micro-sociological writings that were participant observer studies of people in poor areas. He also served as chief of the Center for the Study of Work and Mental Health at the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

. ''Tally's Corner'' served as Liebow's PhD dissertation for

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U. ...

. The book has been considered a "classic" ethnography of black street-corner society in Washington DC featuring the narratives of young unemployed and casually employed black men about work, their families, friends and themselves. It has sold more than a million copies. However, the book has also been widely criticized for failing to explore or acknowledge the constraints of institutional and systemic racism on the lives and social conditions of Black people. Liebow was also a poet. ''Tell Them Who I Am'' accounts the everyday life of homeless women in Washington D.C. Liebow's purpose for the book was to "write a straight forward description of shelter life," "see the world of homelessness as homeless women see and experience it," and explain "how these women remained human in the face of inhuman conditions."

References

American ethnographers Catholic University of America alumni 1925 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American anthropologists {{US-cultural-anthropologist-stub