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

by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, Social Justice, Sociology

Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2017

About the author

Dr. Beverly Christine Daniel Tatum (M.A., Religious Studies, Hartford Seminary, 2000; Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of Michigan, 1984; M.A., Clinical Psych., U.M., 1976; B.A., Psychology, Wesleyan University, 1971) is President Emerita of Spelman College, having served 13 years as President until her 2012 retirement. She is a psychologist and writes on race relations.

Previously, Dr. Tatum serves as Psychology Deopartment Chair at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and professor of Psychology at Westfield State College (1983–89). She started her academic career teaching Black Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, 1980–83.

The American Psychological Association presented its highest honor to Dr. Tatum, the 2014 Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology.

Reviews

[Dani Quickley]

There’s a wealth of information contained within the pages of this book, but the structure bothered me. Why are there 95 pages in the prologue? Why are there just eight pages in the introduction? If you’re the type of person who typically skips prologues, you may want to reconsider if you read this book because at the end the author outlines how the chapters in this edition differ from those in the first.

[Maria Potts]

This whole book was incredibly informative. I really appreciated the excerpts of perspectives from individuals of multiple different racial backgrounds. Also a lot of stats that I didn’t know previously. Very good read!

[Melanie]

a heavy read but so important. white privilege is sooo real.

[Katie]

Well written, gives steps that white people can take to be better allies while avoiding white saviorism.

[Mateo Delgado]

Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum dives into the background and explanations behind many of the racial realities that exist in America today. Giving a brief history of American slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the continued systemic inequality since the Civil Rights Act, Tatum demonstrates how hundreds of years of history impacts the actions and mindsets of Black Americans today. She makes the case that the stressors of being a member of the subordinate group in a White-dominated society lends itself to seeking out others who can relate to those stressors on a personal level–which is why Black people tend to stick together. She ends with suggestions as to how the country can improve its relations among different races–through more education of American history, closing the empathy gap, and most importantly breaking the stigma about having conversations about race.

I enjoy these types of books and thought Tatum put together a really solid work to answer a question I had had going through college: “Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?” I was having a conversation with my mentor about that topic, and he happened to have Tatum’s book with my exact question as the title. I really liked her description of the Racial-Ethnic-Cultural identity process that those in minority groups have to go through, which I had never previously considered. It makes sense that members of the subordinate group are confronted with that part of their identity from a very young age, and struggle putting the answers together as they navigate life and deal with varying doses of racism in their day to day lives. I think her recommendations for actually solving the issues were insightful as well–I am working to have more conversations about race to break that stigma myself.

[Marcy Sorenson]

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD

♾️⭐️
🎧 Audiobook

How do you rate a book such as this? How do you rate a book that has opened your eyes to truth you ignorantly ignored for so long? I always knew I had white privilege, but I never fully understood what that meant until the last few years and this book has helped educate me even further. Now that I know (and oh how I wish I knew sooner) I will not stand silently nor idolly by and let others speak. I am more mad than I have ever been and a large part of that is at myself. I can’t know what I didn’t know, but damnnit I should have educated myself sooner.

At this point this is less a review and more my letter of rage. I cannot recommend this book enough. Everyone needs to unlearn the half truths and out right lies we were taught.

[Allen]

this is an information read, perhaps a little too information dense and I'm not the biggest fan of the author's prose. like a lot of the stats and info about the origins of different ethnic groups will just go in one ear and out the other...

HOWEVER, this was an insightful read on the cultural/identity development process we go through from schoolchildren -> adolescence -> adults. the book talks about how this type of process makes groups in subcultures tend to congregate with one another, and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. I love that the book also talks about White people's development process and how silence/uncomfortableness developes due to the difference in how race as a topic is approached amongst dominant/sub cultures. this is a good read about how open dialogue about race is necessary in today's society

[Bonnie]

An absolute must-read. Dr. Tatum is an excellent educator, and this book unpacks systemic racism and racial awareness proficiently. I learned a LOT.

[Jamie Spera]

5 ⭐️