A Refreshing Page Turner – “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

During my sophomore year of college a new president was inaugurated at my alma mater Spelman College, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum.

In the mist of all the excitement and pomp and circumstance, I purchased the two books Dr. Tatum had written: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race and Assimilation Blues Black Families in White Communities: Who Succeeds and Why? Unfortunately, well maybe fortunately as I was working on completing my degree doing research among other things, these books have sat on my shelf for the better part of about nine years until recently.

During a recent vacation, I decided to take a few books along to finally read and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? was one of them; I read the book in about two days. Why Are all the Black Kids is a refreshing text that contrary to the catchy title discusses more than why all the Black kids are sitting together. Tatum discusses the development of racial awareness and identity in children from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, focusing on her area of expertise — the Black/White dichotomy. The book is a mix of academic knowledge, information received while in the classroom as well as stories from her own experience as a parent.

As an alumna of Spelman College, I learned a lot about Black/African Diaspora history and gained a whole new way to look at the world, a transformation so infamous to the Spelman experience that the gentlemen across the street at Morehouse even had a term for the freshman women who were absorbing all this new found information – ADWized. However, the information that Tatum shares about the stages of racial awareness and identity was something that was not shared in my ADW experience and while reading her book I said to myself that I wish I had the information in this book when I was in junior high and high school — frankly it would have done wonders starting around the fifth and sixth grade.

One of the main reasons why I was able to get through this book quickly was because I could relate to what was being shared and I identified with many of the students Tatum used as examples to support her points in the book. Furthermore, I connected quickly with the book as soon as Tatum shared why she uses the term people of color, a term I have been using more and more during the last year and a half or so (I don’t like using the term minority because it is diminutive and reenforces the “othering” that is common place in mainstream/European descendant US culture that has trickled down to the other US cultures effecting the self-esteem and effective action of people of color).

Why Are All the Black Kids is broken down into five parts: An introduction that shares the terms Tatum uses in the book, a section on understanding Blackness in a White world, a section on Whiteness in a White world, a section on Beyond Black and White and closes with a section on Breaking the Silence. As fruitful as it was for me to read the section on Blackness, as a Black female in the US, I feel that some of the real hidden gems in the book, especially considering the title of this piece, are the sections on Whiteness in a White world and Beyond Black and White. The latter section includes a discussion on the ethnic and racial development for mixed race children something that is still not widely discussed in the United States.

There are so many excerpts I could share but I choose the quote below because when I read it I felt it described the essence of my struggles growing up as a “smart Black kid.” Also this quote reflects one of the main reasons why I ended up attending Spelman College, the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) I applied to. I wanted to be in a space with people “like me” i.e., other smart Black kids. Ironically, at least from the US perspective, going to Spelman I also learned that diversity is not just about race but it can be class, personal interests, family background and more:

One young Black woman from a predominately White community described exactly this [lack of full acceptance by Black and White peers] situation in an interview. In a school with a lot of racial tension, Terri felt that “the worse thing that happened” was the rejection she experienced from the other Black children who were being bussed to her school. Though she wanted to be friends with them, they teased her, calling her an “oreo cookie” and sometimes beating her up. The only Black friend Terri had was a biracial girl from her neighborhood.

If you are a parent, an auntie or even a close friend of a child or someone with children of any age — get this book in their hands! What Dr. Tatum shares in this book is vital information for parents and children alike. I have only been back from vacation a bit over a week and I have already let a friend and fellow graduate student with children borrow this book with all its markings and all.

Four Bites of the Real Effects of Reality TV

While on vacation, I FINALLY got to read Reality Bites Back the Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV by media activist and critic Jennifer Pozner.

I throughly enjoyed this book which reads as a 300 page expose on the underlying tones and effects of this genre of TV which has gained increasing popularity since the year 2000, thanks cheap & effective non-union programming

At times the book reads a bit severe BUT I quickly saw that this was a necessary “evil” used to counter the effects of a decade and a half, more or less, of the severe images TV execs and producers have been pushing in “reality” programming.

One of the biggest realizations I had while reading was seeing how even a smart and educated academic in training woman like myself has been effected by “unscripted” programming. I, like many in the US, vilianized Omarosa from The Apprentice Season 1. Reading this book I can see how much the TV execs/producers’ pushing of negative stereotypes about women of color is a problem.  I also realized that it is highly probably that I mostly saw Omorsa through their eyes as a Black female entitled diva and that’s the nice version of the summarization. An extension of this realization was my “dislike” of Yaya from America’s Next Top Model. Ironically, many aspects of her personality and her stance on many issues, the non-over -exaggerated TV versions, are closer to me as a Black woman of color born in the United States than not. Bite One.

Bites Two through Three are some of my favorite quotes in the book:

From a Section Titled “China Dolls, Dragon Ladies, and Spicy Latinas”

Second-cycle winner Yoanna House, named one of Latina magazine’s “It Girls,” notably avoided such typecasting [traditional Latina typcasting as "firey" and a "hoochie"]. Since she is fair-skinned enough to pass for white, the show chose to erase her hethnicity, playing into the standard Hollywood convention that positions Caucasians as the “default” American. Most viewers were unaware that she was half-Mexican. Instead, media outlets from NPR and Time Out Chicago to International Cosmetic News refer to Jaslene as “the first Latina” to win the sereis, an assumption ecoched by ATNM‘s fans.

From a Section Titled “Sex: It’s Only Okay if She Doesn’t Really Want It”

For a genre overflowing with casual sex, reality TV is surprisingly opposed to women’s desire. Looking the part of femme fatale is expected; acting the part will earn you a scarlet letter. We learn that women should be continually sexually available…so long as it is for a man’s pleasure, not their own.

From a Section Titled “It’s Not at All about Making Better Television”

In this “bold new era,” well-written TV fiction is more the exception (Mad Men, 30 Rock) than the rule. chasing Survivor-style ratings, networks give scripted series very little time to cultivate audiences, making it hard for new shows to survive. ABC yanked Sally Field’s drama The Court, about a female Supreme Court justice, after only three episodes; they let Geena Davis serve as Commander in Chief for only one season. Networks are not only decreasing the number of slots available for quality scripted programs (which, unlike reality series, offer union writers, crew, and actors fair pay and health insurance), they’re also slashing their budgets.

With that last quote, I have to say RIP Cashmere Mafia, Friday Night Lights, Lipstick Jungle, and Friday Night Lights

Basically, Pozner’s book really opened my eyes to a problem I began to see on my own prior to reading while giving me solid tools in addition to greater understanding so that I can counter the troubling messages reality TV is putting out there.

If you are reading this post, read this book, and don’t stop there. Share this book with the teens in your life and/or the big reality TV fans in your circles and homes.

To pick up your own copy or copies for others of this must read for men and women alike click here, follow the author on Twitter here and gain access to how you can combat mainstream corporate media’s slanted messages here.

-DNMP