Emily Booth

Evaluation of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together

in the Cafeteria?
In the nonfiction book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the
Cafeteria? the psychologist Beverly Daniel Tatum explains the development of
racial identity through analogies, rhetorical questions, and real-life personal
examples. Tatum is a black woman herself, which makes these real life examples
very believable. Analogies provide a simpler perspective for more challenged and
confused readers. The use of rhetorical questions are a subtle way of her letting the
reader make their own decision of what they want to believe and what they agree
with.
Tatum makes a very smart move by defining all the terms she will be
discussing at the beginning of the book. She defines prejudice, white privilege and
racism. After defining these terms, she provides multiple examples of these terms to
further explain how they occur in our society. This gives the reader a strong base of
knowledge before she goes into depth about these topics.
None of us would introduce ourselves as smog-breathers, but if we live in a
smoggy place, how can we avoid breathing the air? Tatum asks on page 6. This
analogy relates to people who claim to not have a prejudiced bone in their body.
Even if we never think of ourselves racist or prejudice, if we are constantly
surrounded by negative connotations of other races, it still lives in us somewhere.
Out of all the analogies Tatum uses, I personally think her active vs. passive
racism analogy was the most powerful. On page 11, Tatum writes, I sometimes
visualize the ongoing cycle of racism as a moving walkway at the airport. Active
racist behavior is equivalent to walking fast on the conveyor belt Passive racist
behavior is equivalent to standing still on the walkway. This analogy really spoke to
me because every day of our lives we see people being discriminated against, and
we can just tell ourselves that we as individuals arent doing anything
discriminatory, but if you are just standing still and remaining a bystander to the
racist people, you are being a passive racist.
Chapter 3, The Early Years, discusses how racial identity develops
throughout a persons life. Tatum uses quotes from her son and other children to
support her argument. She makes a strong point that in preschool and elementary
school there are many interracial friendships, but in middle school races typically
start to divide. She thinks that this division has to do with puberty, which is the
normal time for young teens to struggle with self-identity. At this age, you start
questioning yourself and this is where the division of races becomes prevalent. This
chapter makes her whole book very believable because she is using her child as a
primary example. Some of the points she made even brought up personal memories
of myself when I was younger. I, sadly, had more interracial friendships when I was

Emily Booth
younger than I do now. Its a sad thing to say, but it is the hidden truth that many
white kids arent aware of until they read a book like this.
Will the opportunities I expected still be there for me, or will I be the victim
of reverse racism? Tatum asks on page 114. In this chapter, Tatum dissects the
issues of racism in a workplace. She mentions affirmative action and discusses the
difference between quotas and goals. Affirmative action is associated with goals
which are both basically a goal to have equal job opportunities for every race. A
quota is technically illegal, unless court ordered for well-documented racial
discrimination. This chapter was much like the first, in which it defined multiple
terms and went further into depth. I like the way she separated it from the first
chapter. It gave her the opportunity to elaborate on the first couple terms before
introducing more, making it easier to read.
The last chapter of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the
Cafeteria? is named Embracing a Cross-Racial Dialogue. This chapter of the book
ties the past 192 pages of her book together in a very strategic way. On page 193,
Tatum writes How do I engage in meaningful dialogue about racial issues? How do I
get past my fear? How do I get past my anger? Am I willing to take the risk of
speaking up? Can I trust that there will be others to listen and support me? Will it
make a difference anyway? Is it worth the effort? The rhetorical questions that she
provides are questions that I ask myself every day, and Im sure millions of other
people do as well. The last chapter describes ways in which one individual person
can help America overcome our racist society.
Now that I have discussed all of my positive comments on her book, I have
one negative comment. On page 18, Tatum uses a quote from Charles Cooley that
says other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. I completely disagree
with this quote, and even though Tatum is borrowing it from someone else, she is
still saying it and putting it in readers minds. The way I personally take this is that
we judge ourselves based on what other people think of us. This is not how it should
be, we should have self-respect, self-love, and not let other people define us.
Overall, Beverly Daniel Tatum, a remarkable psychologist and author, created
a powerful book about racial conflicts in our present day society. Our world needs
more books like this. Too many people get caught up in the past of racial issues and
dont focus on how we can solve them today. The first step to recovery is letting go
of the past and gaining knowledge of present day obstacles. Tatum does an
outstanding job informing the reader with little bias.