Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
And Other Conversations About Race
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
The international bestseller that changed how we talk about racism
'A critically acclaimed book that gave readers a starting point to demystify conversations about race' The Atlantic
'A classic' Jodi Picoult
Walk into any racially mixed secondary school and you will see young people clustered in their own groups according to race. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned psychology Professor, guides us through how racial identity develops, from very young children all the way to adulthood, in black families, white families, and mixed race families, and helps us understand what we can do to break the silence, have better conversations with our children and with each other about race, and build a better world. A mainstay on the bookshelves of American readers since 1998, and substantially revised and updated in 2017, this evergreen bestseller is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of race
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A clinical psychologist and professor at Mount Holyoke College, Tatum (who is black) brings some worthwhile perspectives--developmental psychology and racial identity development theory--to issues of race. Thus, she observes that, when asked for self-definition, whites take their race for granted, while students of color do not. She notes that adults don't know how to respond when children make race-related observations, such as confusing dark skin with dirt. Answering the book's title question, she explains that black students, in late adolescence and early adulthood, are first grappling with "what it means to be a group targeted by racism," and thus seek solidarity in an "oppositional identity." Such solidarity often remains necessary, even in corporate settings. She observes credibly in her chapter on affirmative action that the "less-qualified" person is usually seen as black, not a white woman, and suggests that whites are more likely to favor their own in cases when the minority applicant is equally qualified. However, she argues that only poorly implemented affirmative action programs promote the unqualified; her treatment of this issue is too pat, as is her treatment of affirmative action in academic admissions. Tatum recommends all-white support groups to work through feelings of guilt and shame regarding racism. She also calls for more dialogue about race; such dialogue, however, would likely have to include such touchy subjects as questions of race and crime in order to be fruitful. Author tour.
