Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race

In Chapter 10, Tatum recommends that readers speak up about racism within their own sphere of influence. What is your sphere of influence? How can you break the silence about racism in your sphere? In the past, were there any incidents where you stayed silent instead of speaking up? If so, what could you have said?

Why do we need both intraracial and cross-racial dialogue about race and racism? What is the value of each?

What are the costs of racism for people of color? What are the costs for White people? What can we gain by speaking out against racism?

Compare and contrast the identity development process for Black people, other people of color, and White people. What similarities and differences are there in Cross’, Helms’, and Phinney’s models? How does the identity development of multiracial individuals compare to that of monoracial people?

When discussing the identity development of each racial and ethnic group, Tatum incorporates a number of narratives in which members of these groups describe their experiences in their own words. Looking at these narratives, what parallels and differences do you notice?

Think about the question posed in the title of the book. Why do people ask that question? What kinds of assumptions underlie it? Why did Tatum choose that to be the title?

Throughout the book, Tatum pays particular attention to the role of schools and educators. What role do they play in maintaining racism? What role can they play in interrupting racism? Why does Tatum focus so much on education as a site of ideological contention?

In response to a White woman who said she was “fighting for” people of color, Tatum says she recommended the woman “fight for herself, not for people of color” (332). What does Tatum mean by this? What does it mean to be an effective ally?