An Uphill Battle

In her 2017 work, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum explains how it’s possible for some good people in the United States to still find themselves inactive in the just struggle against racism. Dr. Tatum defines racism as “a system of advantage based on race” (p. 93). In the United States, the system of advantage benefits White people, members of the dominant racial group, and harms Black people, members of the subordinate racial group. Dr. Tatum explains that Whiteness remains the dominant racial group in the United States because it wields power. Dr. Tatum suggests that a lack of understanding (about racism, whiteness, and white privilege) is the first reason why a White person may not be an effective ally against racism. The author highlights how many people have a limited view of racism, and that when they think of racism, they think only of clear acts of racial discrimination at the hands of individual perpetrators. However, racism goes beyond individuals, and overt acts that are easy to identify. Dr. Tatum argues that racism remains a part of American society that affects everyone, often in ways that many people do not see. As dominant racial group members, White people may not see and understand what their whiteness means in the United States, or see how their whiteness benefits them. The second reason why someone may not feel motivated to take action against racism is because they think they do not carry any responsibility. Some people know that they work hard and trust that if everyone works hard, they can also achieve success, regardless of the circumstance. Others believe they do not say or do anything actively racist, and that is enough. Still others believe they do not need to combat racism because they have their own struggles as a subordinate group member. Lastly, Dr. Tatum posits that people shy away from antiracist behavior because action takes effort. In order to make a change, people must challenge both themselves and the people around them, which can come at an emotional cost. In Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Dr. Beverley Daniel Tatum explains that White Americans must tackle ignorance, accept their own involvement in the system of racism, and take action if they want to help erode racism in the United States.

Ignorance

Regarding race, people can be unaware of what racism is, what it means to be White, and how people benefit from White privilege. Dr. Tatum explains, “For many White people, the image of a racist is a hood-wearing Klan member or a name-calling Archie Bunker figure. These images represent what might be called active racism, blatant, intentional acts of racial bigotry and discrimination. Passive racism is more subtle…” (p. 115). Dr. Tatum highlights how the derogatory actions and words of individuals are often the manifestations of racism that are the easiest to recognize. The examples she refers to are individual people who do not try to hide their racist views: a Ku Klux Klan member who wears the Klan’s symbolic dress, and the fictional 1970s television series character, Archie Bunker, famous for his bigotry. However, racism that lies within jokes or hiring practices, for example, can be more difficult to identify. Just as some people may not notice different forms of racism, and thus the extent to which it exists in society, some people may not recognize the significance of their own whiteness. Dr. Tatum refers to a pattern she notices whenever she facilitates an exercise in which she asks groups of people to describe themselves. Dr. Tatum relates: “…where a person is a member of the dominant or advantaged social group, the category is usually not mentioned. That element of the person’s identity is so taken for granted that it goes without comment. It is taken for granted by them because it is taken for granted by the dominant culture…The dominant group is seen as the norm for humanity” (p. 108, 110). Dr. Tatum highlights social groups or categories that affect a person’s identity such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and physical or mental ability. For each of these categories, a person may be part of the dominant group or the subordinate group. Dominant personal qualities that people rarely mention include whiteness, maleness, Protestantism, and heterosexuality. Because whiteness is the dominant racial group in the United States, White Americans may not consider their race or race in general. Finally, White people may not realize all the ways in which they benefit from white privilege, or the systematic advantages of whiteness in American society. Dr. Tatum points out that in a situation where a person of color experiences housing discrimination, “The White tenant is, knowingly or unknowingly, the beneficiary of racism, a system of advantage based on race. The unsuspecting tenant is not to blame for the prior discrimination, but she benefits from it anyway” (p. 95). In a certain neighborhood or specific home, when a person of color becomes the victim of housing discrimination, a White person receives preferential treatment. White people who obtain housing are aware of the actions they control such as their own financial planning, and their efforts to find housing, for example. They may not be aware of the discrimination that takes place in their search for housing. Dr. Tatum illustrates how White people must learn more about racism, Whiteness, and White privilege in order to be citizens who understand the context in which they live.

Exemption

People can struggle to recognize racism in the United States, and they can also struggle to recognize their part and their privilege within the system. Dr. Tatum argues, “When we claim to be free of prejudice, perhaps what we are really saying is that we are not hatemongers. But none of us is completely innocent. Prejudice is an integral part of our socialization, and it is not our fault…To say that it is not our fault does not relieve us of responsibility, however” (p. 110). Here, Dr. Tatum highlights two aspects of racism from which people usually want to disassociate themselves. First, people may stress to themselves and to others that their words and actions are never discriminatory. They are confident that no one can accuse them of any blatant racism based on what they say and do. When people try to claim they are free of racial prejudice, however, they most likely do not consider the more subtle forms of racism that they witness but do not speak out against, or that subconsciously affect their thinking. Second, people may believe that the racism in American society, because the origins of racism in the Americas stem from a time long before the births of anyone alive today, is not their creation. Although no one today is responsible for the origins of racism in the United States, people who do not actively fight against racism are complicit in its reproduction. Some people trust that because they are not the worst perpetrators of racial discrimination, nor the founders of racism in America, they are not a part of the problem. People sometimes also feel uncompelled to take any responsibility when they do not feel that they benefit from privilege. Dr. Tatum writes, “Those Whites who are highly identified with a particular subordinate identity may also struggle with claiming Whiteness as a meaningful group category because they feel far from the White male middle-class norm. For example, Whites who grew up in impoverished circumstances often struggle with the idea that they had anything described as ‘privilege’” (p. 237). Again, Dr. Tatum explains how people tend to focus less on characteristics that afford them dominant group membership, and more on their subordinate group traits. Dr. Tatum tries to explain how a person’s Whiteness does not preclude them from struggle, only that race is not one of the ways the person is disadvantaged. Overall, the acknowledgement of a group privilege can be uncomfortable. Dr. Tatum maintains, “The view of oneself as an individual is very compatible with the dominant ideology of rugged individualism and the American myth of meritocracy. Understanding racism as a system of advantage that structurally benefits Whites and disadvantages people of color on the basis of group membership threatens not only beliefs about society but also beliefs about one’s own life accomplishments” (p. 237). America values the idea that anyone, regardless of their background, can work hard and achieve success. Thus, the racism that benefits White people and disadvantages Black people goes against what Americans like to believe about the nation. Furthermore, people want to believe that their hard work alone, perhaps with some luck and community support, is what helps them acquire what they desire. No one wants to think that a system that unfairly supports them, while oppresses others, is also at work. Dr. Tatum argues that White people may feel that they are somehow not a part of systemic racism in the United States because they are not racist, they are disadvantaged in other ways, and because they work hard.

Effort

In order to effectively oppose racism, people must have an understanding of the system, their own role in it, and must take action. Dr. Tatum claims, “Because racism is so ingrained in the fabric of American institutions, it is easily self-perpetuating. All that is required to maintain it is to go about business as usual…unless [people] are walking actively in the opposite direction at a speed faster than the conveyor belt - unless they are actively antiracist - they will find themselves carried along with the others” (pp. 115-116). Dr. Tatum insists that modern day American society reproduces racism automatically. Inaction on the part of the American public allows for the continuation of injustice. She uses the analogy of people on a moving walkway at an airport to illustrate how racism continues. Some people walk on the moving walkway (actively behave in a racist way), and others stand still on the walkway (passively allow racism to continue). In order to arrive in a different place than where the reproduction of racism leads, people must actively oppose racism - which requires a certain amount of effort on the part of the individual. If a person decides to make an effort, and learn more about the realities of racism, Dr. Tatum acknowledges that the education process can be uncomfortable. She claims, “Responses to this discomfort may include denying the validity of the information that is being presented or psychologically or physically withdrawing from it…If despite the strong impulse to withdraw, the individual remains engaged, he or she can turn the discomfort into action” (p. 232). Dr. Tatum describes how people who learn new information about racism in America, and thus about themselves, others, and their society, may feel a host of negative emotions including anger, defensiveness, guilt, or shame. The author claims that people must continue to be deliberate about their education and emotional regulation as they learn more about race. In addition to an individual’s own aversion to the topic of race, Dr. Tatum acknowledges, individuals are likely to encounter negative responses from others: “The social pressure from friends and acquaintances to collude, to not notice racism, can be quite powerful…Because the pressure to ignore racism and to accept the socially sanctioned stereotypes is so strong, and the system of advantage so seductive, many White people get stuck…” (pp. 234-235). In a conversation with a group of people, if one person addresses racism, others may claim that the person is too serious, argumentative, or annoying, because society deems certain amounts of racism expected and acceptable. People who choose to interrupt racism must sometimes risk the displeasure of their colleagues, friends, or family members. According to Dr. Tatum, the fight against racism requires active participation, which can be uncomfortable for individuals and those around them.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria explains how racism against Black people exists in the United States today. Dr. Tatum’s observations illustrate the difficulties White people may encounter before they become self-aware agents of positive change. The first element that Dr. Tatum believes hinders progress is ignorance. She argues that many people have a limited understanding of racism. People think racism against Black people today manifests in rare outbursts of violent behavior or bad language, and they do not see the systemic harm in other parts of American society as well. Even harder to understand is what it means to be White in today’s America. As the dominant race, Whiteness is often synonymous with standard or normal to many people, when in reality, Whiteness is just one racial identity in America, which reflects different ethnicities and cultures and comes with its own experiences. Most difficult for some people to realize, can be the way in which their Whiteness benefits them in society. The second challenge Dr. Tatum says that people face is a defensive reaction that denies any personal White privilege or responsibility. White people who do not harbor any ill will towards Black people may believe they have nothing to do with the problem of racism. Dr. Tatum also finds that White people who consider themselves in one or more of the subordinate groups in other categories, such as gender, religion, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, or ability, might feel that White privilege does not apply to them, as they too struggle with marginalization. The idea of White privilege for anyone goes against the American value of individualism and freedom, which may be another reason people choose to believe it does not exist. Finally, People who educate themselves about racism in the United States, and understand their privilege, face the final challenge of action. Dr. Tatum explains the efforts necessary to actively oppose racism, and the personal and social toll action can take. Well-meaning White Americans still struggle to fight against racism, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum argues, because of a combination of ignorance, unwillingness to accept personal involvement, and the burden of action.

References

Tatum, B.D. (2017). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria: And other conversations about race. Basic Books.