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Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race Paperback – International Edition, January 17, 2003
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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.
- Print length294 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBasic Books
- Publication dateJanuary 17, 2003
- Dimensions5.25 x 1 x 8 inches
- ISBN-109780465083619
- ISBN-13978-0465083619
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What's it about?
This book is about the psychology of racism, why we need to talk about it, and how to do so effectively.Amazon editors say...

An updated anniversary edition of the groundbreaking book about the realities of racism.
Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
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Instead we may be living in a color-silent society, where we have learned to avoid talking about racial difference.1,873 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Prejudice is a preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information.1,843 Kindle readers highlighted this
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It is important to understand that the system of advantage is perpetuated when we do not acknowledge its existence.1,354 Kindle readers highlighted this
Editorial Reviews
Review
-Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things
"In the face of setbacks economically, socially, and racially, Beverly Daniel Tatum's work is ever relevant. Spanning so very much history in recent decades and engagingly written, this book remains the go-to volume on identity groups and social exclusion, especially among college-aged people."
-Roger Brooks, President and CEO, Facing History and Ourselves
"We read the original version of this book 20 years ago and learned a great deal about race, racism, and human behavior. This updated version provides even more insights about the racial, ethnic, and cultural challenges we face in American society, and particularly in higher education. What makes these insights so valuable is the author's ability to look at our problems from different perspectives and to challenge us to look in the mirror as we think about who we are and whom we serve. She gives excellent examples of leaders who succeeded during times of crisis, and of others who struggled. Any American leader wanting a deeper understanding of these issues should read this book."
-Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
"Beverly Tatum answers the question posed in the title of her book in a brilliant synthesis informed by history, developmental psychology and great wisdom. Stereotypes, omissions and distortions-each rooted in our nation's history of slavery-cause each of us to breathe the "smog of racism." It is little wonder that Black adolescents rely on one another for social support as they navigate identity development. In the 20 years since Tatum first published her classic book, Black people have been disproportionately affected by the economic crisis of 2008, mass incarceration and a backlash against affirmative action. In this revision, Tatum finds a way to remain hopeful as today's youth lead movements exposing racial hierarchies, race and class privilege and seemingly invisible systems of oppression. This book should be required reading for every American."
-Kathleen McCartney, President, Smith College
"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? was a landmark publication when it appeared in 1997. Twenty years later this updated edition is as fresh, poignant and timely as ever. Bias, explicit and implicit, limit options, produce deadly encounters, and gnaw away at the fabric of our social contract. Racism, prejudice, and discrimination remain active characteristics of life in our society, notwithstanding the prominence of African Americans, Latinos/as, Asian Americans, and Native peoples in the media, entertainment, sports, politics, and many domains of business. Beverly Tatum reminds us that against this backdrop individuals sometimes seek out others like themselves because it secures their sense of self in a world that often makes them feel insecure. As a result, group congregation becomes a means of flipping the power dynamics and affirming oneself in a social context. If you somehow missed this book in its original form, I recommend this revised edition to you. It remains a must read."
-Earl Lewis, President, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
"Set today against the backdrop of a highly divisive and still persistently racialized societal landscape, this newly revised and updated publication is still a must-read classic. Tatum unpacks with moving narratives, the psychology that drives us all, as we grow up in largely homogenous communities, schooled in the nuances of difference that define too starkly our racial identities, even as we strive to learn how to embrace rather than distance from the many others that define our world. Just as this experienced psychologist and wise educational leader reminds us here that we cannot talk meaningfully about racial identity without talking about racism, so too must we learn from her words about how to talk and teach and dialogue across those boundaries, in the hopes of better realizing the potential of our diverse democracy."
-Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Rutgers University-Newark
"In 1997, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? changed the conversation about race and racism in our nation. Twenty years later, this new edition is sure to do the same, this time with thoroughly updated information about the growing ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious diversity that now characterizes the United States, as well as important insights about persistent barriers to authentic integration and shrinking opportunities for many segments of the population. Given the current sociopolitical context in which we find ourselves, a context too often defined by exclusion and the stubborn persistence of bigotry and racism, this new edition couldn't have come soon enough!"
-Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 0465083617
- Publisher : Basic Books; 5th Anniv., Revised edition (January 17, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 294 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780465083619
- ISBN-13 : 978-0465083619
- Item Weight : 11.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 1 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #762,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,538 in Discrimination & Racism
- #2,704 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)
- #2,819 in African American Demographic Studies (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the content extremely insightful, practical, and a redefinition of racism. They also describe the writing style as very readable and able to be a great first book for someone just starting out.
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Customers find the book extremely insightful, practical, and a mixture of anecdotes and statistics. They say it provides tools and understanding behind racism. They also say it's great for educators and anyone getting started with educating themselves. Readers also mention that it includes a lot of data, including on recent events, and provides an excellent perspective for someone eager to understand race identity.
"...Ms. Tatum is refreshingly frank, for, example, as she describes herself in her college youth as being so enthusiastically into her own race, that..." Read more
"...By that I mean that it included a lot of data, including on recent events as of 2017, and really helped me to understand racial identity development..." Read more
"...The book is great for educators and anyone getting started with educating themselves on race, especially white people who feel any anxiety, fear, or..." Read more
"B.D. Tatum has written one of the most phenomenal books on race that I have ever read...." Read more
Customers find the writing style very readable and straightforward. They also say the author is fabulous and the book has the perfect balance of issues.
"...Tatum beautifully articulates issues with racism using quite accessible language...." Read more
"...The straightforward writing style enabled me to intake and digest a lot of information, though I'll probably need to go back and reread this one..." Read more
"This is an excellent book on racism and racial identity. It's very readable and would a great first book for someone just learning about the..." Read more
"...I loved her resources and the book was such an easy read. I loved every detail of how she incorporated her material and history! Great read!..." Read more
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And, paradoxically, it turns out that everyone of all races are more like each other than not, even specifically about ethnic identity, even when it's different. That's why this book should receive continued and expanded reading. As people may embrace identity politics and their own ethnic identity, they mistakenly think they are being unique, which Tatum explains, they are not. Tatum explains the varied scales of ethnic identity that humans go through in stages by human and social nature.
Tatum shows that in all races, some of us embrace ethnic identity a lot, or more so, while others don't at all, or less so. And the cycles are similar, for all races, around the world, depending on social situations, like depending upon which ethnicity is in a large majority in a given situation. For example, Ms. Tatum, while black herself, identifies blacks who care not at all about embracing a black identity. That is like my family, which was all ethnic German, but didn't care at all about our ethnic identity, like cooking German food, or having clothing from the old country. I still feel that way, while my wife, who is African American, continues to stress her ethnic identity, embracing African history, African-American cooking, and art and items from the old country. We were both born in the U.S., in similar working-class backgrounds.
Ms. Tatum is refreshingly frank, for, example, as she describes herself in her college youth as being so enthusiastically into her own race, that she can't even remember one person's name, outside of her race, from her first four years of college. But she points out, that many others of her own race don't feel that way at all, and don't stress an ethnic identity as being important to them. Some people use ethnic pride for self-confidence, while others do not, or in varying degrees, and it all depends on social situations as well.
This is based on some serious research, not just anecdotes, and it covers every different situation that the multitude of us in all these ethnic backgrounds in the United States are in, as we all have an ethnicity. This book explains results, covering all ethnic groups, all social situations, and the lifetime patterns people take around the world in their identities.
This book helps explain why by human nature how we often think of ourselves, and others, in the ways that we do, as we go through life in various stages. Might I suggest that Ms. Tatum, or others, look further into how or if ethnic identity stages are affected by class status, from the lower working class up to the wealthy. That's a lot of variables, but Ms. Tatum shows that a lot of variables can be indeed be covered.
It's an outstanding text that causes one to really examine racism through a critical lens. At first, I was taken aback by Tatum's definition of racism as being a systemic issue whereby all White people would be classified as racist in either an active or passive way. Reading further, though, it makes sense, especially to me, a White Southerner who lives among many active racists. Tatum beautifully articulates issues with racism using quite accessible language. This book is making me reflect on my own passive racism and how I don't really do much to improve the situation.
She also briefly covers other isms in the book including classism. I am from a poor family and dragged myself out in ways. I have to say that were I not a White, heterosexual male, I might not have been able to do this. I am sure I benefitted from passive racism and capitalized on affordances made possible by a dominant White society. In a way, though, I'll always be seen as poor by some affluent members of the White class. This mirrors racism in our society to a degree.
I don't want to belabor things here. I'll simply say that this is a book everyone should read. It can cause you to interrogate your own position in society and begin to see how the issue truly is a systemic issue governed by a successful White society.















