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 3
Part II: Understanding Blackness in a White Context
Chapter 3: The Early Years
Tatum begins this chapter by asking the reader to recall their first race-related memory. She then explains that “preschool children are very focused on outward appearances,” leading to a tendency for preschool children to overgeneralize as part of their cognitive development (p. 115). An example of this is when her son David saw a White mother helping a brown-skin child together and David asked why they didn’t match. Another example is when Eddie, David’s White classmate, said that David’s skin is brown because he drinks too much chocolate milk. The author had to step in and explain what melanin is, affirming David’s identity. Tatum, however, wondered if anyone had set Eddie straight. Usually, people are afraid of saying the wrong thing. The questions go unasked.
Blackness, Whiteness, and Painful History
One day, Tatum’s other son Jonathan asked if he was Black even though his skin was brown. This question worried Tatum because of the tone of the question—was he not comfortable being Black? In explaining that he is Black, she chose to describe the Atlantic slave trade. In doing so, she wanted to ensure three things: (1) she didn’t want to frighten the child or make him think these things would happen to him, (2) she didn’t want him to think his ancestors were passive victims, and (3) she didn’t want him to feel that all White people are bad.
“While I think it is necessary to be honest about the racism of our past and present, it is also necessary to empower children (and adults) with the vision that change is possible” (p. 121)
A Question of Color
Race constancy is the fact that one’s racial group membership is fixed and will not change. Race constancy is not achieved until the age of six or seven. Some kids of color do desire to be White, showing a growing awareness of White privilege. In a study on race, one Black boy asked if he had to be Black because he wanted to be a paramedic and all the paramedics he saw on TV were White. Another thing to factor in is colorism, which is the societal preference for light skin. There is a need for us to examine the behavior and language we use with our children regarding race and colorism. For example, Tatum once went to school with her hair straightened and a teacher told her that she was pretty. The reality was that she was pretty every day, but the teacher’s comment signaled that the White trait of straight hair is what made Tatum pretty.
“It’s That Stuff Again”: Developing a Critical Consciousness
Tatum states that it is important for kids to be able to spot things like racism and sexism. She considers the skill to be a gift—by giving this gift, you are raising resisters. Tatum recommends that when parenting, parents should engage children in a critical examination of the media they consume.
Chapter 4: Identity Development in Adolescence
The Black kids don’t start out sitting together in the cafeteria. Racial grouping happens in sixth or seventh grade when puberty hits and students start asking the question “Who am I?”
“Why do Black youths, in particular, think about themselves in terms of race? Because that is how the rest of the world thinks of them” (p. 133)
Understanding Racial-Ethnic-Cultural Identity Development
Racial-ethnic-cultural (REC) identity development is an identity model. It understands that children of color are “socialized to develop an identity that integrates competencies for transacting race, ethnicity, and culture in everyday life” (p. 134). Black children absorb the idea that Whiteness is the dominant, preferred group. All races start to think about race in middle or junior high school, but it’s particularly salient for children of color, especially Black girls. For example, Black girls recognize their race when kids start to date and they see their White peers dating but are left feeling undesired.
Racial environmental factors that students think about are institutionalized. Access to college prep curriculums is largely for White people, leaving many Black students on the lower track in schools. This sends a message about Black children and their academics. Tatum gives the example of a substitute teacher who went around asking kids what their college plans are. The teacher went to the Black student and suggested community college, even though they recommended a college or university to the White students in the classroom.
“The growing racial awareness characteristic of this adolescent stage can be triggered by the cumulative effect of many small incidents—microaggressions—that the young person begins to experience” (p. 140)
Online racial discrimination is also very real, leading to “depressive symptoms, anxiety, lower academic motivation, and increased problem behavior” (p. 142).
Coping with Encounters: Developing an Oppositional Identity
Self-segregation is a form of protection. People turn to people who understand, not excuse or minimize what someone has gone through. In racially mixed settings, racial grouping is a response to a stressor: racism.
Oppositional Identity Development and Academic Achievement
Doing well in schools leads to some Black kids being told that they are acting White. Such academic success leads to alienation from other Black students. Academically successful Black students in racially mixed schools who want to be good at school while maintaining relationships with Black peers adopt strategies. One strategy is racelessness: “individuals assimilate into the dominant group by deemphasizing characteristics that might identify them as members of the subordinate group” (p. 147). Another strategy is becoming an emissary: “someone who sees his or her own achievements as advancing the cause of the racial group” (p. 148).
The Search for Alternative Images
Learning Black history in college tends to be very empowering for Black students, but many Black students never get to college.
Not at the Table
Tatum shares the story of a Black girl named Terri who was surrounded by White people in her upbringing. She was a very depressed child despite having conversations with her father that Black is beautiful. The intervention of a Black junior high school teacher helped the most because she was exposed to the Black community. Children of color in White communities need intervention, usually from parents.
“Individuals who do not have such a strategy available to them because they do not experience a shared identity with at least some subset of their racial group are at risk for considerable social isolation and depression” (p. 154-155)
An Alternative to the Cafeteria Table
Tatum discusses the METCO (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) program, which bussed Black students to a school in the Boston suburbs. Here, they met each day with two staff members in mandatory meetings to talk about homework, social issues, and racism. Students were more engaged, had higher grades, and were not afraid to participate in class.
“We need to acknowledge that an important part of interrupting the cycle of oppression is constant reeducation, and then sharing what we learn with the next generation” (p. 158)
Group Identity and Stereotype Threat
Stereotype threat is the threat of being viewed in a negative stereotype, kind of like performance anxiety. When REC identity is activated, it affects how people perform. For example, a standardized test asked people to check off racial group membership, leading to Black students performing worse because of existing stereotypes that Black students aren’t academically successful. This can be overcome by “clearly communicating both high standards and assurance of belief in the student’s capacity to reach those standards” (p. 161).
Chapter 5: Racial Identity in Adulthood
Tatum describes an immersion experience that happened to her in college, where she got to explore her Black identity wholeheartedly. She unlearned internalized stereotypes, redefining a positive sense of self in regards to race. She posits that racial fluency is like learning a language. It is best to immerse yourself completely in the country where the language is spoken to learn, then you can leave. But when you do, it’s important to keep up with it every now and then to maintain your skill.
Not for College Students Only
The process of REC-identity development is circular:
“It’s like moving in up in a spiral staircase: as you proceed up each level, you have a sense that you have passed this way before, but you are not in exactly the same spot” (p. 174)
The middle-adulthood period of life may be the most difficult to deal with REC-identity things because of increased responsibilities and potential opportunities. Black adults may retreat from identifying with other Blacks, adopting a raceless persona to win the approval of White coworkers. They de-emphasize their membership in the racial group and are forced to manage their emotions carefully to be successful in the workplace.
Tatum concludes this section by discussing how understanding and coming to terms with race is an ongoing work in progress.