Closing Thoughts

      I have finished reading Beverly Daniel Tatum's Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and overall, I thought this book was decent.

      As I stated many times throughout these posts, I feel that Tatum should have included different supportive evidence than she did. There was a lot of statistical information that was incorporated in this book, but it didn't always seem like it was doing much to help develop ideas. At times, the amount of just pure data, with no commentary, was extremely overwhelming and I had a hard time focusing on everything going on. On the other hand, I found these last forty pages very interesting because they talked about biracial kids and how they identify.

      Essentially all minority groups are addressed and we see their points of view and I think that now, having read a lot about how each group is treated, I have a good understanding of how many variations of racism there truly are. The discussion about biracial kids is something that I personally haven't heard about, but Tatum includes a lot of kids' perspectives of themselves.

      1. the singular identity (either exclusively Black or exclusively White)
      2. the border identity (defining oneself as biracial)
      3. the protean identity (shifting back and forth between Black, White, and biracial), and
      4. the transcendent identity (rejecting all racial categories) (307)

      These four identifications are exemplified by different people and parts of their stories are shared with us. As we read more, it is explained why people might choose to identify one way over another; identifications correlate with what their physical appearance is and the culture they're raised in. Sadly, some people who choose to identify as biracial are not seen by the general population as such, but rather race or the other. Chris is a biracial woman says, "her identity is 'biracial' yet she is painfully aware that other people don't see her that way. 'I experience the world as a black woman.'" (311). I'm sure there are people who understand Chris when she tells them she has one White parent and one Black parent, and that justifies that she is biracial. However, it's hard not to label a person who is biracial as one race or another before you meet them.

      As Tatum writes, the assumptions people make about others' race identities invalidate how people feel. To help make her point, I think Tatum should have talked to White people who make assumptions about people's race (so really anyone in America) and asked if they believe what their biracial peers tell them. This is like talking to someone of the LGBTQ+ community in terms of people needing to respect how others identify (this does not apply to the conversation about Rachel Dolezal as I don't think that is in the same category). Back to my main point, I think this was a great way to begin the end of this book. Talking about ways biracial people identify is a nice even ground where the Black and White communities can come together, via people who share both backgrounds.

      In the end, I know race is a hard thing to talk, read, and write about, even for someone like Tatum who has their PhD and I respect the effort Tatum made in writing this book.

Rhetorical Style

      Throughout Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Tatum uses an abundance of quotes. Such are full of more information that she believes are a lot more effective as direct quotes; they are full of information and stories that would be hard to paraphrase or summarize.

      In this section of the book, (pages 362 through 308) the majority of the direct quotes are minorities (besides the Black population) sharing their own personal stories and experiences with racism. Their stories trigger an emotional response from the readers. One American Indian student states, "One of our school's biggest rivals is the Calaveras Redskins. Calaveras has always had an obscene amount of school pride, but little do they know how damaging their game-time routines are... I feel ganged up on... Worst of all, the most offensive stuff doesn't even come from the Redskins... I have heard my own friends yelling around me... (265) Reading this student's first-hand encounter allows us as readers to feel the discontent and discomfort of a American Indian student. If his story had instead been given a short summary, then the emotions he feels would have been minimized and would not cause the same reaction.

      The offense that White people are guilty of vary across different races. Asian Americans, primarily from immigrant families, are not given the educational help that they truly need to succeed. Tatum quotes a Vietnamese student whose English is a second language:

      Sometimes, the English teachers, they don't understand about us. Because something we not do          good... like my English is not good. And she say, "Oh your English is great!" But that's the way
      of American culture is. But my cultures is not like that. If my English is not good, [the teacher]
      has to  say, "Your English is not good. So you have to go home and Study."... But some
      Americans, you know, they don't understand about myself. So they just say, "Oh! You're doing a
      good job!..." Teachers talk like that, but my culture is different. They say, "You have to do
      better." So sometimes when I do something not good, and my teachers say, "Oh, you did so
      great!" I don't like it. I want the truth better. (284)

We know that teachers mean well and wish their students the best, hoping for them to thrive, but when students who clearly want and need more help are not provided the resources, they will not reach their fullest potential. Through his broken English, we can feel the frustration and sadness this student feels. He is used to how his culture communicates with one another and their high (and blunt) standards. It is nice to be told you're doing well, but not when you are not actually thriving; this is when someone's weaknesses need to be pointed out and supported. Asian students are stereo-typically known to be good at math and science areas in school, not English and social studies. In this quote, the readers are able to understand why immigrant students might not do so well in English. Tatum writes, "... students often suffer from communication anxiety, feeling inadequate about their writing and speaking ability. This anxiety may contribute to a student's choice to pursue subject areas... that require less verbal fluency." (284) The praise that is being given to students like the one above is not based on genuine success, but rather, I think, pity. Teachers don't want to make a student that is falling behind feel bad, but the false support they provide isn't any better. Tatum, by including this point of view, is pointing out how American culture is backhandedly racist, even when it's trying its best to be kind.

      The inclusion of many big and emotional block quotes in this section of Tatum's book provides strong evidence of America's racism. I think that without the use of them, this book would be much less powerful. Yes, there would still be many statistics which support Tatum's message, but readers' hearts would not be in it. Additionally, the use of quotes from so many people who have experienced racism more interesting. Reading just numbers with some commentary tends to get boring, so mixing in some narratives allows the readers to reinvest themselves into what is in front of them.

Relevance

      From chapter seven to about halfway through chapter 8, Tatum goes from talking about affirmative action in reference to group historically discriminated against to talking about those who have similar problems today.

     President Lyndon Johnson enacted affirmative action, signing it would "ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin" (215) Students, from a very young age, are informed of all the hardships that Black people and women have faced and overcome throughout time and, that because of their dedication to equal treatment, discrimination has become nearly non-existent. 

      Though in broad spectrum in the United States equal rights for Blacks and women have improved drastically, these issues have not disappeared. Tatum writes that "a study... sent out close to 5,000 fictitious resumes... the resumes were all similar except that half of them were assigned as African American-sounding name... and the other half had names more commonly associated with Whites... the results showed significant discrimination against the Black-identified resumes" (217). We would like to think that the people most qualified for a job would be the ones to be hired, but when two people are neck and neck, the White person is the one to be hired, as shown in the survey. This survey's results can be reflected in the article from the Boston Globe by Nicole Dungca, "Lost On Campus, As Colleges Look Abroad". Dunca's article discussed the racism and discrimination seen in Boston colleges against Black students and how international students are favored. While we see these international students as a great way to diversify Boston, you will see very few Black local students, which you would think would be attending colleges from their city. Unfortunately, as pointed out by Dunca, they don't go to local schools because they don't feel welcomed. Yes, there are other races on campus, which can be seen as affirmative action, but one skin color is hardly ever seen on Boston campuses. Racism and discrimination against Black people is still very much a relevant problem, which Tatum is saying in this section of the book, but people (in broad terms) have become so used to the smaller problems that they think they no longer exist. 

      As readers begin chapter eight, they can see that Tatum is ready to open doors to problems among races besides Black groups. The group she focuses most on is the Latinx population. The most wide-spread issue that Latinx Americans have is the loss of their culture's language, Spanish. It's the most significant piece of the Central and Southern American worlds for many and when it is lost, people lose themselves (246). The largest group of Latinx people in the US are Puerto Ricans, whose language has been "devalued by the dominant culture" (246). While it is perfectly okay to want to be accepted by new people and make new friends, this should not mean that people need to forget who they were raised as and their heritage. If people do speak their native/ethnic tongue, they are possibly going to be shamed; such negative reactions to people speaking Spanish come from anyone from teens to the elderly. We hear about encounters like such in the news or even on the streets of a diverse city. Losing a language, while as said before is not good, gives one less thing for rude people to point out and laugh at, which is a positive that some immigrants might see.

      Fitting in and being a "normal American teenager," speaking English might assist people in lsoing who they are or forgetting where they come from, but issues often reappear later in life for many. In the example Tatum gives, we are talking about the children of undocumented immigrants. Tatum goes in depth in her conversation about children that graduate high school, but can't further their education due to their parents being illegal (253). Kids and families don't want to risk getting their parents deported, but without financial assistance, they get stuck in the same low-paying jobs as their parents. Illegal immigrants in the past four years have been a huge topic of discussion in US news and a jumping off point for politics. The problems they have that Tatum talks about in this section are not quite like what we talk about now, but they are similar. There are lots of people that think healthcare should be provided for all, but others think illegal immigrants should not receive assistance. Like Tatum's example, they need help from the US to progress, but can't get it without exposing themselves, which is where a harsh and endless circle of struggles begin.

      Tatum's book, especially in this section, is very relevant to problems we face today, which is what I would expect, as this copy is an edited and updated edition for its 20th anniversary.

Argument

      Tatum's primary argument is to defend (while also defining) why and how colored kids develop a racial identity and why even as adults, they tend to separate themselves from the rest of the White crowd.

      Chapter five opens with Tatum discussing why she felt as though she needed to leave her hometown when she graduated high school and was going to college. She states "I did not sit at the Black table in the cafeteria because there were not enough Black kids... I knew enough about social isolation to know that I needed to get out of town." (165). This is an experience that a lot of kids who grow up in a small town can relate to. In the town of Hopkinton, there are only a handful of Black students and like Tatum, likely want to leave the primarily white town to feel like less of a minority and find people with whom they might share experiences. It can be beneficial to live in a small town, like Hopkinton, as is allows for students the opportunity to get more out of their education, but when there is a minority group, it feels even smaller, which is what Tatum is trying to get at when she mentions "social isolation." The mention of moving out of town to college leads to Tatum broadly saying "there is considerable evidence that Black students at historically Black colleges and universities higher... goals than their peers do at predominantly White institutions." (169). It is reasonable for her not to have written all of the evidence in this one paragraph of the book, but calling all the information that is supporting her argument "considerable evidence" makes the reader want to skip ahead to where she might mention statistics and less interested in what else she has to say. If a reader so chooses to skip over the little bit of commentary, they will find supporting evidence, but overall, Tatum uses too broad a statement to open her argument for it to be as effective as possible.

       A more indirect idea of why colored students tend to spend time with one another is expressed when Tatum writes, "... students reported that they couldn't help but notice the pervasiveness of contemporary forms of racial stereotyping... For example, on White student reported that when she asked her roommate to get her a glass of water, the White roommate replied, 'Do I look Black to you'" (191). Those of color, especially Black people, don't want to be surrounded by people that are attempting to make harmless, but nonetheless racist, jokes. This rude remark made by the girl's roommate is unacceptable and should not be allowed by anyone. No one should be ok with hearing someone say this because it references an extremely complicated evil in American history that we have worked to try and fix for over a century. A Black person is not going to outright say something quite so offensive, and if they do, I feel that it's different (that doesn't mean it isn't still wrong). White people making these types of comments creates a (unintentionally) negative atmosphere that no one with slavery in their history needs to be around, nor should they have to be, which is why Black people will choose to surround themselves with people who understand what is wrong with comments such as the girl's. Staying with people that look like you can feel like a nice safety net to go back to when uncomfortable things happen like this.

      Another less prominent reason of why people divide based on their color is because it can help them understand what racism is. It's said, "When we see strong, mutually respectful relationships between people of color and Whites, we are usually looking at the tangible results of both people's identity processes." (208). I like final part of chapter six a lot because it supports people figuring out who they are and their identity within themselves, even if it's supported by a specific group, if it means they can accept others. When people are able to better understand themselves and see what has made them who they are, they are more likely going to be capable of trying to understand why another person thinks there way without a negative bias interfering, since they know everyone has to go through things to become their own person. The downfall of this argument is that there is lacking supporting evidence from other sources. What would have really made this thought stand out and leave the reader thinking is if Tatum had interviewed people, Black and White, to share how becoming a part of a group of their own skin tone helped them accept others. Doing so would have made the end of this chapter super interesting and I think would have left the audience thinking more in depth about how the groups they grew up in helped shape how they view the diverse people around them.

      This section of Tatum's book is where the definitions she gives (established in the first section I read) were really applied and argued for. As I stated in my previous post, I do think that there is a lot of room for more supporting evidence that would help the arguments a lot, but in general, the thoughts are clear. Personally, I am now being left thinking about how my social environment has impacted how I view other races, which I think is a good thing, even if it seems confusing. As of the end of chapter six, I think Tatum has done a pretty decent job developing her argument and why she thinks and processes things the way she does. 

Opening Thoughts

The introduction and first four chapters of Beverly Daniel Tatum's Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria opens well, as Tatum establishes her credibility and she sets her definitions for what she is referencing in race, ethnicity, and how we slowly begin to identify with certain groups. She states after defining racial and ethnic identity, "Throughout this book, I refer to racial identity. It is important... to acknowledge that ethnic identity and racial identity sometimes intersect" (96-97). I like this because we know she thinks of them as two separate ideas, but can also see how they can crossover when we think about how we identify. As the book continues into chapter two, Tatum begins to talk about how we start to find our own ways into different groups.

How we figure out where we belong unconsciously begins when we are asked who we are. When talking to students about their identities, Tatum noticed, "Students of color usually mention their racial or ethnic group... White students who have grown up in a strong ethnic enclaves occasionally mention being Irish or Italian... in general, White students rarely mention being white" (101-102). Having minority groups identify with their specific ethnicity is interesting because it's something people of color feel the need to mention, while White people generally don't even think about the color of their skin. I wish that Tatum had used examples from classes and students besides hers because it would have strengthened her argument about how soon and prominent people choose to think about their race. Having more data from more people would have helped pinpoint when kids begin to look at themselves in one way or another, and see how much they really care about their skin color. If a kid doesn't describe themselves as Black, Asian, or Latinx until later into their life, does that mean they have been protected from these labels? Or have they never thought of race as an important element in their life? I want to know these answers, and I think they would have fit into the first section well. It is understandable why these weren't really discussed in detail here, since this section is purposed as a segway into the rest of the book, but it would have given readers something else to think about as they begin the next part.

Something else that has really caught my attention is the support group situation that has begun in many schools to help Black students succeed. "The opportunity to come together in the company of supportive adults allowed these young Black students to talk about issues that hindered their performance," (156) therefore students are given the chance to be open with adults who understand what they're going through and can get help to work around their obstacles. Discussing this opportunity for Black students shows that though most people can't see it, there are racial issues that have stopped students from doing their best. This is a very thought-provoking idea, and I'm sure Tatum wanted others to consider the possibility of starting programs or communities similar to those she mentions to help minorities rise above their challenges.

Overall, I have thus far found Tatum's book very interesting and taking over my thoughts on how I view how others racially identify versus how I do and ways that people can support one another. Though there is some lacking evidence in the first section, I don't think there's a wasted argument and maybe the idea of when we begin to identify is supposed to be left slightly unanswered for us to consider.