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

The 20th anniversary edition begins with a lengthy Prologue which surveys how race relations have changed (or not changed) since the book was first published in 1997. Despite growing racial and ethnic diversity in the American population, segregation persists. The legacy of discriminatory policies and practices in the real estate industry means that residential segregation remains a pervasive issue in the present day. Meanwhile, courts have curtailed school desegregation strategies, meaning that students have returned to attending schools based on where they live. Public schools today are more segregated than they were in 1980.

Beyond the persistence of segregation, there have been several setbacks in the past 20 years. There has been a backlash against affirmative action programs, which has caused the enrolment of Black, Latinx, and American Indian students to plummet at universities. The Great Recession of 2008 has had a disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx families, causing them to lose their homes and jobs at a higher rate than Whites. Families of color have also been torn apart by mass incarceration. Ever since Ronald Reagan declared a “War on Drugs” in the 1980s, Black and Latino men have made up about 90 percent of those imprisoned for drug offenses in many states—despite the majority of illegal drug users and dealers being White. Most of these incarcerated people have no history of violence and have not played a significant role in the drug trade, but harsh mandatory sentences have increased the length of time they spend in prison.

If there is one event in the past 20 years that has been a sign of positive change, it is the election of Barack Obama in 2008, “the first African American man to overcome the most symbolic of racial barriers” (17). While his victory was a sign of hope for many people, it generated anxiety and even fear for some White people. It seemed to them as though the racial hierarchy was being threatened and society was changing in unpredictable ways. Although voter fraud occurs very rarely, many state governments have since passed laws making it more difficult to vote, which usually impacts the poor and people of color the most. There has also been a substantial rise in hate group membership and hate crimes, and it is not just older generations who take part. There is the myth that we are now living in a postracial society in which racial issues have become a thing of the past, but Tatum argues that we have become more “color-silent” than “color-blind.” We avoid talking about race, but we still see racial categories and we still have implicit biases.

Those implicit biases can manifest themselves in police encounters—including who gets shot and who doesn’t, or who is given the benefit of the doubt and who isn’t. In 2012, the police accepted George Zimmerman’s account after he killed Trayvon Martin—a Black teenager who was unarmed—and claimed it was self-defense. Zimmerman was arrested after the incident became a national news story, but he was found not guilty. Martin’s death gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, which was further amplified over the following years after Eric Garner was strangled to death, John Crawford III was shot and killed while shopping at a Walmart, and Michael Brown was shot and killed in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.

Brown’s death sparked outrage in Ferguson, where the police have long discriminated against Black residents. A new generation of young activists were furious that the police could shoot Black people in the streets and face no repercussions. Black Lives Matter stood out from older generations of activists in that women and queer people have played a central role in the movement. The fall of 2015 saw another surge of activism, this time on college campuses across the US and Canada. The most prominent protests occurred at the University of Missouri, where students were angered that the school administration was failing to address incidents of bigotry aimed at Black students. After several weeks of protests, the university’s president resigned.

Discussions of race and racism in the US tend to focus heavily on Black-White relations, and this often means that the experiences of other people of color are brushed aside. Native communities also suffer from police violence (and are killed by police at an even higher rate than Black people) and incarceration disparities. All marginalized groups risk experiencing microaggressions in their daily lives, which are the everyday slights and insults a person might receive due to their race, religion, sexual orientation, or other aspect of their identity. People of Asian ancestry are routinely asked where they are from or told to “go back home,” leading to a “persistent sense of otherness” (52) according to one Chinese American journalist. These microaggressions can take a toll on a person psychologically and even result in physical health problems.

The lead-up to the 2016 presidential election heightened concerns for people of color. Donald Trump’s speeches were marked by anti-Mexican and anti-Muslim rhetoric, and at various points during his campaign he also insulted Black people, women, and people with disabilities. He was endorsed by White nationalists and seemed to covertly encourage their support. In the aftermath of multiple deadly shootings, Trump responded with a speech emphasizing law and order, while his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton called for healing and unity. In the end, most White voters chose Trump, which one commentator called a “White-lash against a changing country” (64). Most voters of color did not choose Trump, but it is also important to ask who was not able to vote at all. The 2016 election was the first to be held after fourteen states had enacted new voting restrictions.

In the days following Trump’s electoral win, there was a sharp rise in hate-motivated incidents, including hateful graffiti, harassment, and occasionally violence. One Asian American woman reported that discrimination had become more “public and unashamed” (67) under Trump’s presidency. Through their words, leaders are able to strongly influence public sentiment. If they utilize “us versus them” rhetoric which shows hostility toward others, then people feel a greater sense of threat. If they use more inclusionary rhetoric, then the sense of threat is reduced. While many people would assume that race relations have surely improved over time, Tatum highlights that the past 20 years have given us countless Black people who have died at the hands of the police, a Black president who could do little about it, and a White president who has ushered in a new era of heightened bigotry and hate.