Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Ratings14
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings14
Average rating4.5
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
Reviews with the most likes.
This was a really useful book as a white educator in a diverse school. It's a well-researched look at how racism affects development across various developmental stages and life markers and what can be done to mitigate these effects. As a white person, I know a lot of microaggressions and small moments of discrimination go completely over my head, and this book has clear methods of active anti-racist actions that I can take to help combat this. While it is primarily about Black-White relationships, there are also a couple chapters about other people of color and multiracial families that are limited but good starting points here. It's a book for both POC's and allies, and I highly recommend it to educators specifically.
Very thought provoking! Excellent insight on stereotypes of different races,behaviors, multiracial family issues! Highly recommend!
Short Thoughts: This is going to be one of my top recommendations for an introduction to racial issues. It isn't perfect, but it is very good. The 20th anniversary edition has a good introduction to racial history in the past 20 years (71 pages of introduction). The most important part of this book is the development of what child and teen racial identity development is like and why that is important. It includes discussion not just of traditional minority children's racial identity development, but also of White children, multi-racial children and minority adopted children of White parents. The nuanced development of those different groups makes this very helpful for teachers and others that work with children
The 20th anniversary edition is very current. I did not read the first edition, but the research and examples are all very up to date.
My concerns. One the narration is great and it is by the author, which I like. I do not like that the narration is not synced with the kindle edition. I mostly listened, but I have the kindle edition as well and I will read this later.
Second, while systemic issues were not ignored, I felt like the ending section on interpersonal dialogue and the hope around that was too focused in the individual and not focused enough on the systemic. Racism is primarily a systemic problem that has ramifications on the individual. It is not primarily an individual problem with systemic ramifications. So that part I think is framed wrong. But I still think this is an excellent introduction to issues around race.
My longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/why-are-all-the-black-kids-sitting-together-in-the-cafeteria/
Good starter. I'm reading it as someone who studied this subject to see if this is truly the gold mine for beginners everyone says that it is. I think it is.
There were moments that made me pause, but it's for folks new to this cinversation. I even found myself learning about identity-development theory and terminology.
I see why this is on all the reading lists.
