Beverly Daniel Tatum’s classic book —Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? — is chock-full of hard truths.
And when participants in Monday’s #NACACreads chat gathered online to discuss the bestseller, they confronted many of those realities and shared ideas for how to make things better for the students they serve.
“Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. Cultural racism — the cultural images and messages that affirm the assumed superiority of Whites and the assumed inferiority of people of color — is like smog in the air,” Tatum writes in the book, revised in 2017. “Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and out, we are breathing it in.
“None of us would introduce ourselves as ‘smog breathers’ (and most of us don’t want to be described as prejudiced),” she added. “But if we live in a smoggy place, how can we avoid breathing the air?”
Counselors and admission professionals from across the country joined in the discussion. Here are highlights from the hour-long chat.
On spending time with same-experience peers:
4/4) We should pay less attention to where students sit in the cafeteria & more attention to what happens in classrooms daily.Building skills for connecting across difference can happen in classrooms & in structured experiences outside of class. It takes practice! #NACACreads
— Beverly Daniel Tatum (@BDTSpelman) June 12, 2018
On giving students a more complete picture of black identity:
A2: Be more inclusive, hire more black educators, explore more texts from many black perspectives. The diaspora is huge and people are complex. Start in PreK and don't stop. That singular narrative is dangerous to people of color. #NACACreads
— philly all-purpose noun (@always_oges) June 12, 2018
On the importance of whites examining their own racial identity:
A4. If people don't recognize the struggles of others, they're more likely to identify advocacy as aggressive.
The gravity of the situation may be lost on people who haven't considered their own identity/privilege. #NACACreads https://t.co/YR2K91fglq— Beth Schaller (@SCintheMiddle) June 12, 2018
On confronting hard truths:
I agree. The definition of racism vs prejudice really punched me in the gut. Hard to appreciate why you have when you really consider the huge head start received … makes me want to uncover as many ways to support students as I can #nacacreads
— Gil Rogers (@gilrogers) June 12, 2018
On the importance of safe spaces:
“People don’t care what you know until they know you care.” Students of color who face daily micro-aggressions, (mis)perceptions, and stereotypes need authentic, safe places to hear, be heard, feel, and reflect for healthy development. #NACACreads
— M Gilbert-Mitchell (@mgmcollegesvcs) June 12, 2018
Q3. Re: affinity groups, “safe spaces” doesn’t adequately capture the purpose they serve. I call them “refueling spaces.” You need time and space to refuel to do the hard work of managing the daily stress of racism and other “isms.” #NACACreads
— Beverly Daniel Tatum (@BDTSpelman) June 12, 2018
On the difficult work ahead:
A5: It’s imp for white folks to call out racism b/c it cannot be solely the responsibility of POC to “fix” things. #NACACreads
— Jonathan Hoster (@jjhoster) June 12, 2018
Read the full chat transcript, learn more about #NACACreads, and take our survey to suggest future book club selections.
Admitted writer/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at mstegmeir@nacacnet.org.