Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? : and other conversations about race

Author

Beverly Daniel Tatum

Call Number

• 305.896 T221 2017 (CEN, OSH)

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Edition

Third trade paperback edition ; Twentieth anniversary edition.

Publication Information

New York : Basic Books, 2017.

Physical Description

vi, 453 pages ; 21 cm

Summary

"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"--

Notes

"Fully revised and updated"--Provided by publisher.

Originally published: New York : Basic Books, 1997.

Contents

• Prologue: "Why are all the black kids still sitting together in the cafeteria?" and other conversations about race in the twenty-first century
• Introduction: A psychologist's perspective
• Defining racism
• The complexity of identity
• The early years
• Identity development in adolescence
• Racial identity in adulthood
• The development of white identity
• White identity, Affirmative Action, and color-blind racial ideology
• Critical issues in Latinx, Native, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern/North African identity development
• Identity development in multiracial families
• Embracing a cross-racial dialogue
• Epilogue: Signs of hope, sites of progress.