is an esteemed sociologist who currently teaches at Harvard. At the time TIME magazine placed him on their list of 25 most influential Americans, they cited three of his works: The Declining Significance of Race (1978), The Truly Disadvantaged (1987), and When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor, which was published in September of 1996, just before the presidential election. In his books, Wilson argues that the existence of a lower class is not based on race alone; rather, it is a combination of the lack of opportunities within and stigma surrounding ghettos and historical racial discrimination. His controversial theory sparked dialogues and new ways of thinking at the time, and continues to do so today.  Click on the link below to hear an interview Wilson did on NPR in 2012.