Black History Month Book Review

In light of Black History Month, I'd like to offer my take on a book called Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria. The book poses some interesting questions that I would like to address.

In her book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, Dr. Beverly Tatum suggests that racist behavior can only result from one who benefits from racism. She clearly defines racism as a system of advantage based on race. She further progresses to suggest that White people comprise the only group that can be positively affected by racism and racist behavior. Therefore, she insinuates that only White people can be racist, exempting all other (while possibly incorrectly so named) "minorities" from holding the attribute of being named "racist."

In order to illustrate Tatum's point in this matter, I offer an example. Suppose a television news station is hiring a position for a street reporter. As applicants file through, the person in charge exerts his own personal active racism. By active racism, I mean that he is actively entertaining his own prejudicial and racist beliefs against another who is different than he is. He then profiles the applicants and turns away, for example, Black applicants who may be equally or more qualified for the job. Therefore, an unexpecting White applicant may receive the job, be less qualified, and never know of the injustice inflicted upon the Black applicants that led to his success.

Obviously, the discrimination upon the Black applicant is a travesty to humanity. There is no viable excuse for the behavior of such an employer. These kinds of occurrences happen everyday, all the time. They are a product of a country that is still in its youth, emerging from a past of hatred and inequality, as well as an overriding persistence of stubborn prejudices.

In time, we have begun to move away from of judging someone based on the color of their skin. But there is without a doubt room for growth and change. We are a society split by a barrier that we can see, but that cannot be torn down by traditional means. However, is it true that this barrier is being maintained only by one single group of people? Is it possible that the only way to destroy this obstruction is for that one people to revolutionize their way of life in order to allow the oppressed people to emerge? Is their only one people at fault here?

I believe the answer to all questions to be "no." While the prejudices, stereotypes, and discriminatory thoughts and behaviors performed daily by White people against (for the purpose of this assignment) Black people are both unacceptable and appalling, the exact same behaviors and actions are performed by Black people. This is not to say that Black people are exceedingly more racist than White people. It is simply to say that these racist actions stem from a millennium of competition and segregation in diverse societies both against and within varying racial groups.

It is true that the American traditional, historical race of economic control and success rests in the hands of the White male. Yet we are now at a position in time where more Black people are earning college degrees and successfully infiltrating the work world, and rightfully so. But, as Black workers climb the corporate ladder into positions where they are in power to hire and fire, is it not possible that they will be just as likely to pass over White applicants, who may be equally or more qualified for the job, in exchange for a Black applicant? I think that to say that the previously mentioned situation is an impossibility, is both hypocritical and racist in and of itself.

I believe that the truth of the matter lies in the innate desire of human nature to compare one's self to others. Black, White, Asian, Latino-be it whomever, we all look at each other and question our differences, our strengths, our weaknesses. We find in our overly generalized illusions, ways to justify ourselves and our likenesses against one another. We thoughtlessly and carelessly spew these bigamous ideas amongst those who are like us in a petty attempt to substantiate our own reservations about our likenesses. Instead of addressing personal successes and failures within ourselves, we look for other cowardly channels to facilitate our uncertainties with slurs, jokes, generalizations and stereoptypes about those less familiar.

Do I think that Tatum's assertions about sources of racist behavior are correct? Absolutely not. I believe her allegation to be racist in and of itself. One may think I am trying to excuse the behavior from White people that she exemplifies-I am most certainly not. White people do participate in racism by discriminating, prejudging, and stereotyping those different from themselves. This behavior is inexcusable and I would not attempt to venture to relieve these racist people from their faults. But I believe they do so with no more or less frequency than any other race does so against those differing from them. Are all White people racist peope? No. Are all Black people racist people? No. Racism is a poignant and despicable characteristic of the human race, but it is nonetheless permeating society from all corners...not just one. Efforts to reduce racial discrimination, which, admittedly, truly does affect Non-White races with more severe consequences, need to be addressed by all people, regardless of color. In a country commonly referred to as "the Melting Pot," we are a people that will have to learn to look beyond the surface and skin tones and truly judge each other, as the great Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "on the content of their character."