In this paper we highlight key conceptual, empirical, and theoretical contributions of the sociology of race and racism, particularly those relevant to education scholars. We suggest that educational researchers could benefit from incorporating some of the insights of sociological research on race and racism into their scholarship as such engagement would help to refine and deepen understandings of what race is and is not, how racial dynamics shape what happens in schools, and how schools matter for society. Similarly, studies of school processes, practices, politics, and outcomes can help us to understand more about the construction, negotiation, and transformation of racial knowledge, racial boundaries, and racial hierarchies. We thus advocate for more robust interdisciplinary exchange and believe that the potential benefits are substantial not only to academic fields but also to efforts to advance racial justice more generally. How we conceptualize race informs how we measure it and how we make sense of the pervasive racial inequity that defines our society and pervades educational institutions.