Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race

Affirmative action programs are one of the main focuses of Chapter 7. Public universities and employers with federal contracts are required to “develop procedures that […] result in equal employment opportunity for historically disadvantaged groups” (215), including people of color, women, people with disabilities, and veterans. Some institutions develop process-oriented affirmative action programs, which attempt to create an unbiased application process. Tatum argues that these are often not effective because people make biased decisions even when they don’t intend to. Goal-oriented programs, on the other hand, set diversity goals and continually evaluate whether they are making progress toward those goals.

Psychologists Samuel Gaertner and John Dovidio claim that many White Americans are “aversive racists”, which is a result of them “internaliz[ing] the espoused cultural values of fairness and justice for all at the same time that they have been breathing the smog of racial biases and stereotypes pervading popular culture” (220). Aversive racists see themselves as racially tolerant, but they are often uncomfortable interacting with people of color. They are resistant to the idea that they might be prejudiced, but their racial prejudices often emerge in ambiguous situations. Tatum discusses aversive racism in Chapter 7 as a reason why so many White people are opposed to affirmative action.

As discussed in Chapter 7, there is a pervasive ideology in the US that sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva refers to as “color-blind racism”, in which “White people deny or minimize the degree of racial inequality or explain contemporary racial inequality as the result of factors unrelated to racial dynamics” (226). They often believe that everyone has equal opportunities in life, and so people of color are to blame for any adversities they experience. White people are often reluctant to talk about racial issues, since it is believed that bringing up race is racist in and of itself. This ideology thus stifles dialogue and encourages the maintenance of the status quo.

In Black communities, there is sometimes a preference for lighter skin colors over darker skin colors, a form of oppression known as colorism. In Chapter 3, Tatum discusses how colorism within Black families can send negative messages to children.

When surrounded by so many negative messages, some people of color may end up “believing the distorted messages about one’s own group” (86). They may deny their experiences with racism, believing that they themselves are to blame. One manifestation of internalized oppression is colorism, which is discussed in Chapter 3.

Microaggressions are the “daily slights and insults” (51) experienced by people of color as well as other marginalized groups. In the Prologue, Tatum gives some examples of the microaggressions that many Asian Americans experience, such as being told to “go back home.” These microaggressions can trigger a growing awareness of racism in adolescents of color.

In Chapter 4, Tatum describes how a growing awareness of racism can lead to the development of an oppositional social identity for some Black adolescents. They distance themselves from anything perceived to be “White,” while any behaviors that are “authentically Black” are valued. Oftentimes, however, their notions of what is “Black” and what is not are heavily influenced by stereotypes.

Tatum defines prejudice as “a preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information” (85). While some people are more overtly prejudiced than others, we all inevitably acquire prejudices because of the racist societal messages that surround us, which Tatum compares to a “smog” that we all breathe in. Many Americans view racism and prejudice as the same thing, but Tatum emphasizes that the two are distinct.

Tatum defines racial identity development as “the process of defining for oneself the personal significance and social meaning of belonging to a particular racial group” (96). While a distinction can be drawn between racial identity and ethnic identity (the former based on physical criteria and the latter on cultural criteria), the two frequently intersect. When discussing the racial identity development of Black adolescents in Chapter 4, Tatum uses William and Binta Cross’ racial-ethnic-cultural (REC) identity model, which is based on the view that “‘racial, ethnic, and cultural identity overlap at the level of lived experience’ to the point that there is little reason to discuss them separately” (134).

For White identity development in Chapter 6, Tatum uses Janet Helms’ model, which focuses on the “abandonment of individual racism” and subsequently the “recognition of and opposition to institutional and cultural racism” (187). When discussing the identity development of other groups of color in Chapter 8, Tatum uses Jean Phinney’s ethnic identity development model, which involves three phases: unexamined identity, identity search, and achieved ethnic identity. All of these models are similar in that an exploration of one’s own identity is often precipitated by an encounter with racism, and that a positive self-definition develops over time.

While many Americans conceive of racism as simply overt expressions of bigotry, this is a limited understanding which excludes cultural and institutional racism. Using sociologist David Wellman’s definition, Tatum sees racism as a “system of advantage based on race,” which involves “cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals” (87). This broader definition emphasizes that White people systematically benefit from racism while people of color are systematically disadvantaged by it. 

Tatum discusses stereotype threat in Chapter 4 in relation to the added pressure that Black students may feel to perform well at school. Social psychologist Claude Steele defines it as “the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype” (159). Due to the stereotype that Black people are intellectually inferior, Black students may feel pressured to always do well at school in order to disprove the stereotype, but this pressure can end up inhibiting their academic performance.