Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity, Revised edition

Rating:
Summary: Building Change Agents
Review: In the 1999 introduction to the revised edition of "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity, Beverly Daniel Tatum explains that she wrote the book not only to answer questions like the title question but also "to help others move beyond fear, beyond anger, beyond denial to a new understanding of what racism is, how it impacts all of us, and ultimately what we can do about it" (pg. ix). For persons of standard average European background surrounded, for the most part, by others who share this delineation, race is often the elephant in the living room; everyone knows it is there, but nobody is talking about it. Reading this book forces one to look at the elephant; however, not everyone will agree upon what it is they are seeing.
Tatum divides the text into five parts, unequal in both length and value. Many white readers may never get past the first chapter, as the definition of racism included will make them too uncomfortable. Understanding and accepting the described definition of racism as a system of advantage is central to distilling meaning from much of what follows. As long as readers continue to resist the concept of institutional racism, the subsequent sections on black identity (part 2), white identity (part 3), multiracial identity (part 4), and cross racial dialogue (part 5) have little meaning. Although it is necessary to begin the book with a discussion of terminology, the idea that only white people can be racist immediately sends up red flags to those raised to believe racism is a personal evil, born of vicious intent. This makes using Tatum's book in an educational context difficult, unless readers work to overcome these feelings and, at the very least, suspend disbelief regarding the definitions for the duration of the book.
Section two, "Understanding Blackness in a White Context," is a decent explanation of the work of Cross, explaining the stages of the development of racial identity. To make this section more readable and interesting, Tatum adds personal stories to illustrate the stages. For white people working with black children, teens, or adults, reading this section may illuminate previously misunderstood issues. Section three, however, truly sets this book apart from other books on racism and minority identity. "Understanding Whiteness in a White Context" discusses the identity formation of white individuals as well as affirmative action. Readers who were distinctly uncomfortable with the first section may feel somewhat soothed by the chapter on white identity, recognizing themselves more easily in the portrait of a child raised to be "colorblind" than in the definition of racism. This chapter is important because it shows the system of racism affecting white people as well as people of colour. As part of the "norm" of American society, seen by others as individuals rather than representatives of a group, white people have the luxury of generally not having to think about institutional racism. Commonly, when they come to accept their role in the system, the reaction is guilt. Tatum reassures her readers that this guilt is normal and that there are productive ways to get past the guilt and move towards dialogue both with whites and people of colour. The following chapter on affirmative action may ruffle a few feathers, but no one ever said change was supposed to be easy.
The fourth section, dealing with multiracial and other racial identities, is by far the weakest area of the book. After the in-depth, personal exploration of black and white identity, it feels as if Tatum is merely giving lip service to Latinos, American Indians, and Asian Pacific Americans. The text is dry and reads awkwardly, as if the author herself is not quite comfortable with her role in describing the ideas discussed. The chapter on multiracial identity is better, as Tatum gets back into her comfort zone of dealing with black and white, however, it is stunted and serves more as a catalyst for further investigation than as an actual source of information.
Part five is made up of the short but inspirational chapter on creating cross racial dialogues. This chapter could stand alone as a motivation for social change. Using quotes from "real people" as well as researchers, Tatum encourages everyone to "continually break the silence about racism whenever we can" despite fear, frustration, and anger (1999, pg. 193). Following the pep talk is a very thorough and well thought out appendix of starting points for dialogue. Having viewed/read several of the mentioned videos and books listed, it is my opinion that this section is a wonderful resource. Even if readers are never quite comfortable with Tatum's discussion of racial issues, they should not hesitate to delve into the resources listed at the back of this book.
Overall, this book is an excellent start towards achieving the goals of cross racial understanding and dialogue, provided white readers push past their initial squeamishness regarding the sociological definition of racism as an institution. Beverly Tatum's straightforward discussion of race gives readers a knowledge base from which they can spring confidently into conversations. While no book can in and of itself remedy societal ills, "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" does the next best thing; it inspires and empowers change agents.

Rating:
Summary: Missing Facts, and Theories Presented Without Support
Review: Dr. Tatum is preoccupied with race to the point of neurosis, and she wants you to be too.

The purpose of this book is not to explain why Black kids sit together in the cafeteria, although an explanation is provided. The real purpose of this book is to introduce the concept of "White privilege" and use it to convince the reader that goal-oriented Affirmative Action is necessary and justified.

According to the theory of White privilege, Whites attained their place in society merely through favoritism showered on them by their fellow Whites. This is a delicious theory for Dr. Tatum and other Black liberal academics because it invalidates White success in a manner similar to the invalidation Blacks feel when anyone implies that a given Black person's success is attributable to Affirmative Action. I can almost see Dr. Tatum seething with rage over such an implication; and her rage stems from the fact that Affirmative Action provides (or provided, depending on your interpretation of the recent Supreme Court decision) a tangible benefit to under-represented minorities. And there's the failure of this book: Dr. Tatum fails to demonstrate a tangible benefit that Whites receive from "White privilege."

The real indicators of a child's academic success are the parents' education levels and socio-economic status. These factors far and away dwarf any intangible effect caused by White privilege. And yet, Dr. Tatum never even discusses either of these two factors vis-a-vis the academic and career successes of Whites and Blacks. I believe the reason she does not is because doing so would invalidate her book and make her very uncomfortable. The cumulative effects of relatively high rates of high school drop out, teen pregnancy, and male incarceration make Black families much more likely than White families to contain a single parent, and to have a living standard below the poverty level. But from Dr. Tatum's perspective, it is much easier to blame Whites for benefitting from "White privilege" than it is to blame them for the serious social problems that undermine Black success.

As is typical in liberal academic circles, Dr. Tatum demands no accountability from, and cites no responsibility of, Black America for the poor state of Black families. Instead, she explains the relative failures of Black America by attacking and blaiming White America. If you believe the key to Black success is to blame White people, and especially if you're a self-hating White liberal, this book is for you. Otherwise, I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: work of genius
Review: If you really want to know how our society works, this book is a must. It will turn your world upside down. This book is a step towards a better and more evolved society. It will make you think of things in ways you've never done before and if you're a bit uneasy about that, well change is always a little uncomfortable. Have the courage to read this one.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding the issues of the other side over the divide..
Review: After reading this book and then reading the reviews on Amazon.com for this book to date, it's readily apparent that our country is vastily polarized regarding race in America. Though strides have been made, I'm afraid we're no closer to solving the problem of race that we were in 1964.

While acknowledging the authors of the reviews expressed their sincere feelings which is essential to finding solutions to problems, I didn't see much objectivity or constructivity in their comments (whether an acknowledged black or white reviewer) toward the issue of race and reconciliation.

Until our society moved towrd the middle and truely understands the issues of the other side over the divide, we will continue to lie in the stagnant pools of sterotypes and 'us versus them.'

I give this book and Dr. Tatum 4 stars because of how easy it was for the author to demenonstrate the problem of race and the lack of objectivity (someone else may call it ignorance, which is not always bliss) still exists on both sides of the divide.

I would have given the book 5 stars had the author spent more time critiquing case studies to solutions rather than on psycological coping mechanisms which only put a band-aid over the wound which ultimate does not address the root cause of racism and feeling isolated. I hope Dr. Tatum truely considers such a follow-up to an otherwise profoundly written book.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a must read for educators and parents
Review: I have read this book twice already. Beverly Tatum gets to the heart of the matter of racisim and how it impacts our most precious commodity, our children. Race is such an unexplored topic in the United States by way of trying to understand each other and truly allow all of us to be who we are and at the same time be accepting of others. Many people are versed on the Civil Rights Movement and the fact that the Constitution was written to benefit only white men. But does anyone truly understand how our history has made people of color, women, gays, lesbians, the physically and mentally challenged the second class citizens of a country that espouses equality for all. If every educator and parent could read Tatum's book, we can begin to see where the work must be done both within ourselves and for our children to truly make America a land of opportunity for all.

Rating:
Summary: Irrational Arguments
Review: I was unfortunately subjected to reading this book for a class last semester. After forcing myself to finish it, I came to the immediate conclusion that Dr. Tatum has no idea what she is talking about. Let me begin by assessing the major problems I found in all of this tripe.

First, I do not know how a White person can read this book without being offended: Dr. Tatum attacks and stereotypes White people unjustifiably, and she imposes asinine perspectives of Whites to her readers. Therefore, for a book this is supposedly attempting to bridge the "color gap", slandering Whites surely does not help this cause.

Second, there is no evidence to back up any of Dr. Tatum's many claims. Even her fundamental argument, which states that there is some kind of conspiracy against Blacks in America and that Whites are assured better housing, schooling, and financial success than Blacks, is entirely unfounded.

Finally, the vast majority of her arguments are illogical. For instance, she makes the nonsensical claim that the "undesirable" hyenas in the "Lion King" were purposely portrayed by minorities, and that actions such as this are part of some type of anti-Black ploy orchestrated by Whites, who supposedly control the system. Give me a break!
This is one of the many shameless assertions that the author makes against an imaginary White-favoring power. Firstly, the only truly undesirable character was Scar, who was played by Jeremy Irons (Yes, a White actor). In addition, James Earl Jones (A Black actor) played the majestic voice of the noble King Mufasa. Lastly, the "undesirable" hyenas Tatem speaks of were not so much "undesirables" as they were objects of comedy: They were just bumbling goons, albeit on the side of evil, whose purposes were to add humor to the film. Therefore, they were suitably portrayed by comedic actors, Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, whose levity made these characters so fun to watch. The fact that the hyenas were portrayed by minority actors is insignificant. To add a final point, Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin auditioned for these roles. They were not coerced into the parts by a dominant White power because they were members of a minority group. Dr. Tatum obviously knew this when writing such an outrageous statement along with many other ridiculous claims, and her attempt to subject such stupid and baseless complaints to the public is deplorable.

This example with the "Lion King is only a small portion of this book, but the rest of it is packed with similar instances of irrational arguments. For a book that was apparently written to educate the public, I only found myself dumber after completing it.

Rating:
Summary: Reverse Racism
Review: Even though the author of this book makes some good points. And tells us about stages people go through to accept themselves. Personally i don't think i needed to read this book to tell me why black kids or kids of any race sit together. Isn't it obvious to everyone? I was at work and a black man came up and asked me what i was reading and i showed him and before i said anything else he told me exactly what the book said. And he didn't even have a Ph. D. She also says that White people are born not liking/ accepting their whiteness...i don't believe this is true either. I have never wished i wasn't white and i never wanted to be another race...i've always liked who i am. Maybe its just me but in her book she made it out that the white person is always thinking the wrong thing, and when you say you people (refering to people of a younger age) it means black people in a negative way. So remember not to say that. And oh, don't watch the Lion King because according to her that whole movie is based on racism and not about good and bad. I think its a sad day when a white person can't say anything b/c a person of color can twist their words to being racist, they can take a company to court saying they didn't get the job becuase of their race when they have no idea. I'm not racist, and i know i don't know what its like to be a person of color. But i do think they need to be understanding that one person may want to be called black and the other african american, we never know. Also, i don't understand why we are just WHITE, and thats fine. Even though i'm German and norwegan and some french canadian. Should i make them call me that instead of white? I don't expect them to know that so why do they expect me to know what their race is?

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening Book
Review: I picked this book off the shelf at Borders because the title asked a question I have wondered about for a long time. But in addition to just getting the answer to the question of "Why black kids sit by themselves?" I received an explanation of race and racism in our American society that is was clearer and more mind-opening than any other discussion of race I've ever head. The book was like one long 'aha' moment.

Beverly Tatum is able to give a description of racism that white people, me included, are able to understand. If every angry-white-male read this book America would definitely be a better place

Rating:
Summary: A must for teachers
Review: In order for a teacher to mentor his or her class successfully they must know the students' abilities and interests, plus why they have those characteristics. Furthermore, that knowledge could become even more effective if the teacher had a strong intrapersonal knowledge of their abilities and interests. In essence, they would be able to facilitate an environment for the students which encouraged growth, but without confusing their interests with the students'. The book 'Why Are Al the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?' by, Beverly Tatum, is a great starting point for teachers who need to make that distinction on a cultural level. The author introduces to the reader concepts and terms which encourage people with 'white privilege' to acknowledge their advantageous position in society and then to become advocates for people who have been held back because of racism. She, furthermore, makes no delusions about how hard this task may be on an individual level, but asserts that the more persistent people are, the more likely this goal maybe achieved.

Rating:
Summary: From the psychological point of view
Review: Dr. Tatum wrote a book which actually makes a person think about racism in our society and how it is taught in unintentional manners. I had read several reviews of this book here on Amazon.com and noticed how several readers who were white males were outraged by this book. However, instead of those readers addressing key issues in this book dealing with the historical and systematical legecies of racism they chose to attack the author Dr. Tatum on a personal level. Dr. Tatum more than likely wrote this book to bring attention to the psychological cause and effect of racism in America and is trying to find a remedy early in life for our children so that they do not become as misinformed as Archie Bunker. Also the other reviewers kept referring to black and white racisim when clearly Dr. Tatum discusses Asians, Native Americans, Latinos & Hispanics. So I have to ask those reviewers who were so hostile, did you read the book all the way through with full comprehension?

Next I would like to address the issue of Affirmative Action which as Dr. Tatum stated is not a quota system. Affirmative Action benefits all Americans and the group which has benefited those most from affirmative action is white women(check with the U.S. Dept of Labor). Now systematically minorities(blacks, latinos,asians,native americans and women) were locked out of opportunities with affirmative action in order to be considered for a job you need the minimum qualifications in ordered to be hired and most of the time people think minorities have the least qualifications which is not true. Because minorities also graduate from accredited colleges and universities, perform volunteer work, active within their communities, gained valued experience and training very much similiar and sometimes greater than our white counterparts.

I recently spoke with a caucasian admissions counselor at a medical school which I knew very well. This admission counselor explained to me that without affirmative action if all of the medical schools in America were to take the best students then none of them would be white Americans. If the medical schools were to accept only the best then the best are Asians & Middle Easterns. Now I have to ask the enraged white males how do you explain those circumstances to me and everyonelse here in America and please don't attack me, attack the problem.