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

Premises

• Although some think that America is a color-blind society, Dr. Tatum posits that it is instead a color-silent society: people avoid discussing racism (a system of advantage based on race), but notice racial categories and act accordingly.
• Every  measurable social  indicator,  from  salary  to  life  expectancy to health to housing accessibility, reveals the advantages of being White.
  • These systematic advantages are called White privilege: things not necessarily asked for but nonetheless received on the basis of race.
    • (Sending a child to school confident that she won’t be treated differently because of her race, finding appropriate beauty products in a store, etc.).
  • But, because the average White American mostly talks with other White people, many do not fully comprehend the experiences of people of color. 
• No one is completely free of prejudice (a preconceived opinion usually based on limited information) because prejudice is an integral part of American socialization, so people must actively unlearn prejudice.
• Think of racism as not only a personal ideology but also as a system of cultural messages and institutional policies. 
  • Often, when people of color express frustrations about race, it’s not a personal attack on Whites, but rather on institutions and systems that either visibly or invisibly perpetuate racism.

The Early Years

• Adults of all races hesitate to discuss race with children out of fear of making children unnecessarily color-conscious. 
  • But, young children already notice physical differences, and they can better resist the negative impact of oppressive messages when they see them coming than when they are invisible.
• Most information people receive about “others” early in their lives is secondhand, has been distorted by cultural stereotypes, and is incomplete.
  • (Associating Native Americans with only feathers and knives.)
• It’s crucial for children to hear stories of people of color and Whites who have opposed injustice.
• Talking with children, pointing out problems, and “learning to spot ‘that stuff’—whether it is racist, or sexist, or classist—is an important skill for children to develop.”

Identity Development in Adolescence

• Self-perceptions are shaped by the messages received from others: negative images of Blacks are internalized by Black children.
• Black teenagers’ understandings evolve to include an understanding of a shared destiny based on race—a destiny that differs from those in other groups—so, they turn to the other Black kids in the cafeteria.
• Negative stereotype threat destabilizes how Black students perform and how they perceive their own abilities, especially if they think intelligence is fixed and unchanging.
  • But, by adopting the theory that intelligence is malleable, Black students are better able to overcome these threats because they are more likely to see academic setbacks as a need for more effort.
• School-sponsored affinity groups are voluntary desegregation programs that separate Black students for one period or so a day, which support them in their identity development and drastically benefit not only their grades but also their social engagement.

The Development of White Identity

• Because Whiteness is the unexamined norm, many Whites reach adulthood without thinking much about race.
• “[Janet] Helms says the task for Whites is to develop a positive White identity based in reality, not on assumed superiority. In order to do that, each person must become aware of his or her Whiteness, recognize that it is personally and socially significant, and learn to feel good about it…in the context of a commitment to a just society.”
• The defensiveness and psychological discomfort Whites feel when racism is addressed is a hidden cost of racism.
  • To break away from this defensiveness, educate others (point out stereotypes, interrupt racial jokes) and find other White allies who are navigating these waters, possibly in all-White support groups.

Affirmative Action, Averse Racism, and Color-Blind Racial Ideology

• Affirmative action (the effort to address an imbalance that proven biases keep in place) and quotas (fixed numerical allocations that are generally illegal) are not the same.
• To achieve the goal of diversity, there are process-oriented and goal-oriented attempts.
  • Process-oriented programs rely on fair application programs, assuming that fair processes result in fair outcomes. But, bias enters into many stages of the selection process.
  • Goal-oriented affirmative action (preferred), at each step of the process, asks: Are the qualified candidates diverse enough? If not, how can the net be wider?
• “Reverse discrimination” only happens in poorly administered programs because no one unqualified should be hired.
• Dr. Tatum attributes the significant pushback to affirmative action programs to “aversive racism.” Most Americans have unknowingly internalized the ideals of fairness and justice, but at the same time have inhaled the smog of racial biases.
  • Thus, certain interracial interactions and affirmative action programs may generate discomfort and lead to White people finding them “aversive.” 
• Similarly with color-blind racism (where people deny or minimize the degree of racial inequality), this viewpoint overlooks the fact that people of color generally do not have the same experiences as White people.
  • Thus, it perpetuates the myth of equal access and opportunity, encourages ignorance, and blames people of color, instead of examining external factors.
    

To effectively address the painful effects of racism on all Americans, people must engage in meaningful dialogue to raise consciousness and lead to effective action. This requires people to overcome the inhibition to speak about race even with mounting social pressure to remain silent.

• Hundreds of pages of relevant and critical examples, studies, and reports
• The cost of racism
• The complexity of identity and how we come to define ourselves
• Understanding racial-ethnic-cultural identity development
• Oppositional identity development and academic achievement
• Racial identity in adulthood and the corporate cafeteria
• Critical issues in Latinx, Native, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern/North African identity development
• Identity development in multiracial families, including transracial adoptive families
• Signs of hope and sites of progress: programs that have fostered inclusivity and healthy, safe discussion
• In the 20th edition, her prologue addresses the elections of Presidents Obama and Trump, the myth of the color-blind millennial, and Black Lives Matter.