Book Blog (Maxwell Goddard)

     Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting At The Same Table In The Cafeteria was written to answer many questions about the modern psychology of race, including the titular question, and how racism negatively affects the way that people think today; what people of all races can do to change how they think and improve racial relations and social conditions. Tatum makes several arguments as to what she thinks would be helpful, such as raising Black and mixed-race children with positive racial role models and to be unashamed of who they are, educating White people on racism and privilege, teaching everyone to be cognizant of implicit bias, and emphasizing the importance of goal-oriented affirmative action. These arguments are made by primarily by appeals to logic through facts and studies, as well as more emotional appeals that walk the reader through various mindsets and emotions which back up and explain the facts and studies.       For example, on page 2...

        The purpose of Tatum's book is to educate the reader on modern/ systemic racism, as well as how they can combat it in their daily lives and internal dialogues. She shows how racism manifests itself in stereotypes, microaggressions, and racial disparity in treatment, and then how these thing affect people's thoughts and actions, and how they can combat these influences. In chapter four ("Identity Development in Adolescence"), for example, she explains how Black students with the same grades as White students are far less likely to be recommended for advanced classes. A famous example of this is Malcolm Little, now known as Malcolm X, who was told by his English teacher that because he was Black, he could not be a lawyer. Frequently, when students so affected by racism in education talk to White friends and acquaintances about these encounters and disparities, their White friends and acquaintances frequently tell them that there is no issue, or do not unde...

      On page 87, Tatum writes that "Racism, like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals." She then goes on to state that another definition of racism is "prejudice plus power"- that racial prejudice combined with social and political power leads to the making of racist laws, policies, and cultural practices. However, by teaching children and themselves to be critical of racist/sexist messages and cultural norms, people can fight these unjust systems.                        Image credit: https://images.wisegeek.com/little-girl-in-green-raising-her-hand-in-class.jpg     Tatum also tells many stories of how she raised her children to be conscious of racial issues, and proud of who they are b...

      One of the first things that surprised me in the prologue to Beverly Tatum's book was when it said that the Chicago Real Estate Board "put in place an ethics code that prohibited brokers from selling to buyers who threatened to disrupt the racial composition of the neighborhood". This morally and ethically bankrupt practice was know as redlining, and it was adopted by many federal and statewide institutions, creating numerous hypersegregated White, Black, and Latinx(a gender-neutral term for Latina/Latino) neighborhoods separated by race. While this practice was ended in 1950, it further cemented the link between race and economic advantage/disadvantage.     However, the main thing that caught my attention was the story of Trayvon Martin's murder. Despite being nearly a decade ago, it was exactly like Ahmaud Arbery's murder: George Zimmerman saw Martin walking, followed him in his car, and fatally shot him. Afterward, police did nothing until the...