Assimilation Blues: Black Families In White Communities, Who Succeeds And Why (Contributions in Afro-American & African Studies) [Paperback]

Beverly Daniel Tatum (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contributions in Afro-American & African Studies | Publication Date: January 7, 2000

What does it mean to be Black in a white, middle-class community? Is it the ultimate symbol of success? Or will one pay in isolation, alienation, rootlessness? What price must one pay for paradise? Is the price too high?Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, interviewed Black families in depth to identify the sacrifices and achievements necessary to survive and prosper in a white community. For the Black citizens of “Sun Beach,” dual-income households, religious affiliation, and extended families help maintain stability. But with assimilation comes an insidious “hidden racism,” subtly communicated when Black children aren’t called on in class and revealed more fully in incidents of racial name-calling. By listening to the individual voices of these children and their parents, Dr. Tatum skillfully probes the complex questions of identity that arise for a visible people rendered invisible by their surroundings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology and dean of Mount Holyoke College as well as a psychologist in private practice. She is the author of“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (January 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465083609
• ISBN-13: 978-0465083602
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A THOUGHTFUL REFLECTION BY A NOTED EDUCATOR, December 1, 2010

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Beverly Daniel Tatum is the president of Spelman College, and formerly taught at Westfield State College, UC Santa Barbara, and Mount Holyoke College. She has also written books such as "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity and Can We Talk About Race?: And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation.

She begins this 1987 book with the statement, "What does it mean to be a middle-class Black parent living, working and raising children in the midst of a predominantly White Community? Does it mean opportunity, success, the 'American Dream' realized, or is it rootlessness, isolation, and alienation?"

Here are some quotations from the book:

"Almost all of the parents, 16 out of the 20, indicate that it is important for their children to have Black friends. In fact, the mother quoted above, while pointing out that her kids have 1 or 2 Black friends, really bemoans the fact that there have not been more." (Pg. 79)
"Is there anything about Sun Beach that makes life easier or more difficult? The sample respondents are evenly split on this question, some individuals taking both positions simultaneously. The advantages that were cited before are repeated. It's 'pretty,' it's 'safe,' it's '70 degrees year round.' Who would not want to live in a very beautiful, warm, clean, secure physical environment?" (Pg. 99)
"Though the example of Japanese-American acculturation suggest that reduction in group identification and cultural continuity is a possible outcome of residence in predominantly White communities, is it an inevitably unpreventable one?" (Pg. 126)