Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race

by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Paperback, 2017

Status

Available

Call number

305.800973

Collection

Publication

Basic Books (2017), Edition: Revised, 464 pages

Description

"The classic, bestselling book on the psychology of racism-now fully revised and updated. Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about enabling communication across racial and ethnic divides. These topics have only become more urgent as the national conversation about race is increasingly acrimonious. This fully revised edition is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of race in America. "An unusually sensitive work about the racial barriers that still divide us in so many areas of life."--Jonathan Kozol"-- "Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see black youth seated together in the cafeteria. Of course, it's not just the black kids sitting together--the white, Latino, Asian Pacific, and, in some regions, American Indian youth are clustered in their own groups, too. The same phenomenon can be observed in college dining halls, faculty lounges, and corporate cafeterias. What is going on here? Is this self-segregation a problem we should try to fix, or a coping strategy we should support? How can we get past our reluctance to talk about racial issues to even discuss it? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, asserts that we do not know how to talk about our racial differences: Whites are afraid of using the wrong words and being perceived as "racist" while parents of color are afraid of exposing their children to painful racial realities too soon. Using real-life examples and the latest research, Tatum presents strong evidence that straight talk about our racial identities-whatever they may be-is essential if we are serious about facilitating communication across racial and ethnic divides. This remarkable book, infused with great wisdom and humanity, has already helped hundreds of thousands of readers figure out where to start. These topics have only become more urgent in recent years, as the national conversation about race has become increasingly acrimonious-and sometimes violent. This fully revised and updated edition is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand-and perhaps someday fix-the problem of segregation in America"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member bell7
Dr. Tatum, a psychologist who taught in colleges in western Massachusetts and became the president of Spelman College, investigates the ways in which children through adults explore their racial ethnic identities. Though much of the book focuses on Black and white, she also includes a chapter
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briefly touching on Latinx, Asian American, American Indian, and other identities, as well as a chapter on multiracial families.

This is, in my opinion, essential reading and a book I'm sorry it took me nearly twenty years to read from the first time I heard of it. Starting with an introduction discussing Black-white race relations since the publication of the first edition up to 2017, she gives a succinct explanation for why young people might say, "Nothing's changed!" about racism in America. She then describes the psychology behind exploring one's racial ethnic identity, both for Black children/teens/adults, and for white. Her exploration does much more than explain "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" (short answer: it's a safe space for them to share their experiences of race and racism and know they'll be heard and understood). Dr. Tatum gives examples of early conversations about race with her own son, contrasting it with how many white families, including my own respond - "Shhhh!" Her examples give me hope that I can do better in conversations with peers and children, and that if I were to adopt white children or transracially, I could give them a firm foundation to start exploring their own racial ethnic identities.
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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Excellent and approachable look at race relations and racial identity.

Physical description

464 p.; 8.3 inches

ISBN

9780465060689
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