Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Essay exa

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Introduction Tatum’s book â€Å"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?† (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination. Talking about Racism Tatum: The author states racism is all around us and we should talk about racial discrimination. Throughout her book she explains the hesitation people have about talking about racialism. She argues that people are silent out of fear of being impolite, indiscreet and infringing boundaries. Response: I find the statement people are silent out of fear to be true. I try to avoided conversations that could offend someone or could be misinterpret. It reminds of a conversation with a friend one time. We were watching the movie â€Å"Lion King† when he jokingly compared me to the laughing Hyena. I jokingly compared him to voodoo witchdoctor which happens to be a monkey. To my surprise, he asked, â€Å"Did you pick the monkey because I was Black?† I was so embarrassed and ashamed when I hurt his feelings, I never thought of it as a racial comparison. Although we laughed it off, it still bothered me that I hurt his feelings. Just this week I thought I might of offended someone because I was reading Tatum’s... ...at it means to be Black. Does that not still divide the lines of humanity based on the color of a person’s skin? I thank statements like, â€Å"race-conscious† parents teaching their children to be Black is forming prejudice. I teach my children to be kind to others not what means to be White. In interracial relationships if they have a child what should the child be taught? How to be black or white because I thank it is true, children are taught racial differences by their parents and other adults. Personally, I find most mixed racial children are the perfect skin color we all try to achieve. I am not sure I would recommend Tatum’s book to read to discourage racism even though she raises some valid points. Works Cited Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Essay exa Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Introduction Tatum’s book â€Å"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?† (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination. Talking about Racism Tatum: The author states racism is all around us and we should talk about racial discrimination. Throughout her book she explains the hesitation people have about talking about racialism. She argues that people are silent out of fear of being impolite, indiscreet and infringing boundaries. Response: I find the statement people are silent out of fear to be true. I try to avoided conversations that could offend someone or could be misinterpret. It reminds of a conversation with a friend one time. We were watching the movie â€Å"Lion King† when he jokingly compared me to the laughing Hyena. I jokingly compared him to voodoo witchdoctor which happens to be a monkey. To my surprise, he asked, â€Å"Did you pick the monkey because I was Black?† I was so embarrassed and ashamed when I hurt his feelings, I never thought of it as a racial comparison. Although we laughed it off, it still bothered me that I hurt his feelings. Just this week I thought I might of offended someone because I was reading Tatum’s... ...at it means to be Black. Does that not still divide the lines of humanity based on the color of a person’s skin? I thank statements like, â€Å"race-conscious† parents teaching their children to be Black is forming prejudice. I teach my children to be kind to others not what means to be White. In interracial relationships if they have a child what should the child be taught? How to be black or white because I thank it is true, children are taught racial differences by their parents and other adults. Personally, I find most mixed racial children are the perfect skin color we all try to achieve. I am not sure I would recommend Tatum’s book to read to discourage racism even though she raises some valid points. Works Cited Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.