Despite considering myself very politically aware, I first learned of him just in the last few years.
I'm perpetually amazed that more people are not familiar with Sowell's work over many decades. It makes me wonder whether he was ignored because he was a black man challenging many of the left's dogmas.
More than being black, which I'm sure it contributes, I think he was a bit of an outsider in academia. Typically you would make friends and connections so your work gets more spread out. It seems that sowell was a bit on his own.
There's a lot of nepotism in academia, only the filter of time seems counterbalance it.
