Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: Revised Edition: Amazon.ca: Beverly Tatum: Books

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Anyone who's been to a high school or college has noted how students of the same race seem to stick together. Beverly Daniel Tatum has noticed it too, and she doesn't think it's so bad. As she explains in this provocative, though not-altogether-convincing book, these students are in the process of establishing and affirming their racial identity. As Tatum sees it, blacks must secure a racial identity free of negative stereotypes. The challenge to whites, on which she expounds, is to give up the privilege that their skin color affords and to work actively to combat injustice in society. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

This insightful exploration of the varieties of Americans' experience with race and racism in everyday life would be an excellent starting point for the upcoming national conversations on race that President Clinton and his appointed commission will be conducting this fall. Tatum, a developmental psychologist (Mt. Holyoke Coll.) with a special interest in the emerging field of racial-identity development, is a consultant to school systems and community groups on teaching and learning in a multicultural context. Not only has she studied the distinctive social dynamics faced by black youth educated in predominantly white environments, but since 1980, Tatum has developed a course on the psychology of racism and taught it in a variety of university settings. She is also a black woman and a concerned mother of two, and she draws on all these experiences and bases of knowledge to write a remarkably jargon-free book that is as rigorously analytical as it is refreshingly practical and drives its points home with a range of telling anecdotes. Tatum illuminates ``why talking about racism is so hard'' and what we can do to make it easier, leaving her readers more confident about facing the difficult terrain on the road to a genuinely color-blind society. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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39 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Irrational Arguments, Jan 9 2003

By

jessie (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race (Paperback)

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.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A staple on anti-racism, Jan 20 2009

By

Kali Readwin "kreadwin" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for someone (especially a white or unexposed someone) to start exploring anti-racism. As someone who began studying the effects of race and racism in real depth only a few years ago, this book is what I recommend to my friends and family.

Tatum's writing is warm and non-confrontational. She presents the facts with an easy-to-digest style. She writes with an admirable amount of objectivity and class while explaining one of the most challenging topics - RACE. It is a MUST READ book!

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is a Corvette with a flat tire..., Jun 18 2004

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cam1225 "cam1225" (Marietta, ga) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: Revised Edition (Paperback)

What I mean by this unique title is that it has good fundamentals, psychological proof, and great ideas, but its not going anywhere. I applaud Dr. Tatum as to putting very instance (at least being black) of racism into her pages. She discusses the influence of society and its negative images of blacks in the music, movies, and news. The images of beauty and the standards set by Whites in society. She also shows how through ages that racism is progressed and how even children young as the age of 5 that racism is implemented in their minds. White children even internalize that they are the standard by questioning the color of black kids than there own. But the one thing that the author does not donate time too is the fact that blacks as a people are not doing the best they can to better themselves in society. Yeah you can blame current prejudices, psychological problems, and the domination of whites in society. I am a black male and I do not feel that Blacks are doing all they can to better their situation in American society. For example, no matter how much black students may want to stop learning as a way 'of getting' back at white authority. They are not doing anything, but hurting themselves and eventually supporting the sterotypes that whites and other blacks have about blacks. There is so much more to this book, and so many situations. But it is a must read and will prompt many conversations. It is a daring attempt on Dr. Tatum's part and I have enjoyed reading it.

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