Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
A study guide of Beverly Daniel Tatum’s 2020 book ‘Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?’
Summary, part 2
Part I: A Definition of Terms
Chapter 1: Defining Racism
In a smog-filled city, it is impossible to avoid inhalation of toxic air. This is the analogy Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum uses to begin part one of her work, explaining that just as smog pervades the air so much that it is impossible to avoid, cultural racism is impossible to remain unaffected by in U.S. society. Through the omission of Black history and representation, the stereotypes imposed upon people of color in most of the representation they do have in media, and the distortions of U.S. history found in our educational systems, racism has pervaded and continues to infiltrate every aspect of our lives, making way for prejudice to thrive.
According to Tatum, limiting our definition of racism to prejudiced thinking alone does not address the systemic nature of racism. While individual actions do contribute largely to racism, institutional policies and cultural messaging are also key players in the system of advantage based on race, as defined by David Webster in Portraits of White Racism.
In order to remedy the psychological effects of racism, Tatum posits that White people and people of color must develop a positive racial identity, and systems of unearned advantage must be abolished.
Chapter 2: The Complexity of Identity
“The task of resisting our own oppression does not relieve us of the responsibility of acknowledging our complicity in the oppression of others.” (p. 108)
In chapter two, Tatum expands further upon the aforementioned racial identity development discussed in chapter one. Tatum states that many times, people focus on the parts of their identity that seem to go against the grain of society, or their “subordinate” identities (p. 105). According to Tatum, certain parts of our identities, including race and ethnicity, gender (including gender expression), religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and physical/mental ability, are classified as either “dominant” or “subordinate”, and the latter is systemically marginalized in society (p. 102-3). Most people have both dominant and subordinate identities that coexist, and Tatum reminds readers that these intersections can allow us to be more patient with one another in our “mutual learning process” (p. 103).
Tatum concludes Part I by reminding readers that we must examine ourselves and others in our “full humanity”, and she states that this work’s examination of racial identity in the following chapters is not meant to “flatten the multi-dimensional self-reflection we see of ourselves but to focus on a dimension often neglected and discounted in the public discourse on race” (p. 108).