Movie Analysis

HWhy Are All the Black Kids Sitti ng , Together in the Cafeteri a?" And Other Conversations About Race Beverly Daniel Tatum~ Ph.D. BBOOKS AMember ofthe Perseus BooksGroup Copyright ©1997byBeverly DanielTatum, Ph.D.

Published byBasic Books, A Member ofthe Perseus BooksGroup All rightsreserved. Printedinthe United States ofAmerica. No part ofthis book maybeused inany manner whatsoever withoutwrittenper mission exceptinthe case of brief quotations embodiedin crih-cal'articles and reviews. Forinformation, addressBasicBooks, 387 ParkAvenue South, New York, NY 10016. Designed byPeng Olaguera. Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tatum, Beverly Daniel. "Why areallthe Black kidssitting together inthe cafeteria?" and other conversations aboutrace IBeverly DanielTatum. - rev. ed. p. em.

Includes bibliographical referencesandindex.

ISBN 0-465-08361-7 1.Afro-Americans-Race identity. 2. Whites-United States-Race identity.

3. Afro-Americans-Psychology. 4. Whites-United States-Psychology. 5.Race awareness-United States. 6.United States-Race relations. I.Title EI85.625.T38 1997 30S.8'00973-dc21 0403/1098765432 4 --------------------------------------------------------- Identity Development in Adolescence "Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" Walkintoanyracially mixedhighschool cafeteria atlunch timeand you will instantly notice that in thesea of adolescent faces,there isan identifiable group of Blackstudents sittingtogether. Conversely, it could bepointed out that there aremany groups of White students sitting together as well,though peoplerarely comment aboutthat. The question on thetip of everyone's tongue is"Why arethe Black kids sitting together?" Principalswanttoknow, teachers want to know,White students want to know,theBlack students who aren'tsit tingatthe table want toknow. How does ithappen that so manyBlack teenagers end upatthe same cafeteria table? They don'tstart out there. If youwalk into racially mixedelementary schools,youwill often seeyoung children of diverse racialbackgrounds playing with oneanother, sittingatthe snack tabletogether, crossingracialboundaries with anease uncom mon in adolescence. Movingfromelementary schooltomiddle school (often atsixth orseventh grade)meansinteracting with new children fromdifferent neighborhoods thanbefore, andacertain degree of clustering byrace might therefore beexpected, presuming that children who arefamiliar withoneanother wouldformgroups. Buteven inschools wherethesame children stay together from kindergarten througheighthgrade,racialgrouping beginsbythe sixth or seventh grade. What happens? One thingthathappens ispuberty. As children enteradolescence, they begin to explore thequestion of identity, asking "Who am I? Who canIbe?" in ways theyhave not done before. ForBlack youth, 52 Identity Development inAdolescence 53 asking "Who am !?"includes thinking about "Who am Iethnically and/or racially? What does itmean tobe Black?" As Iwrite this, Ican hear the voice of aWhite woman who asked me,"Well, alladolescents struggle with questions of identity. They all becomemoreself-conscious abouttheirappearance andmore con cerned about what theirpeers think. So what issodifferent forBlack kids?" Of course, she isrightthat all adolescents lookatthemselves in new ways,hutnot all adolescents thinkabout themselves inracial terms. The search forpersonal identity that intensifies inadolescence can involve severaldimensions of an adolescent's life:vocational plans, religious beliefS, valuesandpreferences, politicalaffiliations and beliefS ..genderroles,andethnic identities. The process of exploration may v~ry. acrosstheseidentity domains. JamesMarcia described four identity "statuses" to characterize thevariation in the identity search process: (1) diffuse, astate inwhich therehasbeen litdeexploration or active consideration of aparticular domain, and nopsychological commitment; (2) foreclosed, astate inwhich acommitment has been made toparticular roles or beliefsystems, oftenthose selected bypar ents, without actively considering alternatives; (3) moratorium, astate of active exploration of rolesandbeliefs in which no commitment has yetbeen made; and (4) achieved, astate of strong personal commit ment toaparticular dimension of identityfollowing aperiod of high exploration. 1 An individual isnot likely toexplore all identity domains atonce, therefore it isnot unusualforanadolescent to be actively exploring one dimension while another remainsrelatively unexamined. Given the impact of dominant andsubordinate status,itis not surprising .that researchers havefound thatadolescents of color aremore likely to be actively engaged inan exploration of their racial or ethnic identity than are White adolescents. 2 Why doBlack youths, in particular, thinkabout themselves in terms of race?Because that is how therest of theworld thinks of them. Our self-perceptions are shaped by themessages that we receive 54 Underslanding Blackness inaWhile Conlexl fromthose around us,and when young Black men and women enter adolescence, theracial content of thosemessages intensifies. Acase in point: Ifyou were to ask my ten-year-old son,David, todescribe him self, he would tellyou many things: that he issmart,that he likesto play computer games,that he hasanolder brother. Near thetop of hislist, hewould likelymention that he istallforhisage. He would probably not mention that he is Black,though he certainly knows that he is.Why would he mention hisheight and not hisracial group membership? When David meets new adults, one of thefirst ques tions they ask is"How old are you?"When Davidstateshisage, the inevitable reply is"Gee, you're tall foryour age!" It happens sofre quently thatI once overheard David say tosomeone, "Don't say it, I know. I'm tallfor my age." Height issalient forDavid because it is salientforothers. When David meets new adults, theydon't say, "Gee, you're Black for your age!" Ifyouaresaying toyourself, of course theydon't, think again. Imagine David at fifteen,six-foot-two, wearingtheadolescent attire of the day, passing adults he doesn't know on thesidewalk. Do the women hold their purses alittle tighter, maybeevencross the street toavoid him?Does he hearthesound of the automatic door locks on cars ashe passes by? Ishe being followed aroundbythe secu rity guards -at thelocal mall? As hestops intown withhis new bicy cle, does apolice officer hasslehim,asking where he gotit,implying that itmight be stolen? Do strangers assume he playsbasketball? Each of theseexperiences conveysaracial message. Atten, race isnot yet salient forDavid, because it isnot yetsalient forsociety. But itwill be. Understanding Racial Identity Development Psychologist WilliamCross,author of Shades

In the first stage, theBlack childabsorbs many of the beliefS and values of the dominant White culture, including theidea thatit isbet terto be White. The stereotypes, omissions,anddistortions thatrein force notions of White superiority arebreathed inby Black children as well as White. Simply as afunction of being socialized ina Eurocentric culture,someBlack children maybegin tovalue thetole models, lifestyles, and im~ges of beautyrepresented bythe dominant group morehigWy thacithose of their owncultural group. On the otherhand, ifBlack parents are whatIcall race-conscious-that is, actively seeking toencourage positiveracialidentity by providing their children with positive culturalimagesandmessages aboutwhat itmeans to be Black-the impact of thedominant society'smessages are reduced. 4Ineither case,inthe pre-encounter stage,thepersonal and social significance of one'sracial group membership has not yet been realized,andracial identity isnot yetunder examination. At age ten,David andother children like him wouldseemto be inthe pre encounter stage. When theenvironmental cueschange andtheworld begins toreflect hisBlackness backto him more clearly, hewill prob ably enter theencounter stage.

Transition tothe encounter stage istypicallyprecipitated byan event orseries of events thatforce the young person toacknowledge the personal impact of racism. fu theresult of anew and heightened awareness of thesignificance of race, theindividual beginstograpple with what itmeans to be amember of agroup targeted by racism. Though Crossdescribes thisprocess as one that unfolds in lateado lescence andearly adulthood, researchsuggests thatanexamination of one's racial or ethnic" identity may begin asearly asjunior highschool. Inastudy of Black and White eighth graders fromanintegrated urban junior high school, JeanPhinney andSteve Tarver foundclear 56 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context evidenceforthe beginning of the search process inthis dimension of identity. Among theforty-eight participants, morethanathird had thought abouttheeffects of ethnicity on their future, haddiscussed theissues with family and friends, andwere attempting tolearn more about theirgroup. While White students in thisintegrated school were alsobeginning tothink about ethnic identity, there was evidence tosuggest amore active search among Blackstudents, especially Black females. SPhinney andTarver's research is consistent with my own study of Blackyouth inpredominantly White communities, where theenvironmental cuesthattrigger anexamination of racial identity often become evident inmiddle school or juniorhighschoo1. 6 Some of theenvironmental cues are institutionalized. Though manyelementary schoolshaveself-contained classroomswherechil dren of varying performance levelslearntogether, manymiddle and secondary schoolsuse"ability grouping:' or tracking. Though school administrators oftendefend theirtracking practices as fairand objec tive, there usually isarecognizable racialpattern to how children are assigned, which oftenrepresents thesystem of advantage operatingin theschools.' Inracially mixedschools, Blackchildren are much more likely tobe inthe lower trackthaninthe honors track.Suchappar entsorting along raciallines sends amessage aboutwhatitmeans to be Black. One younghonors student Iinterviewed describedthe irony of thisresegregation in what was an otherwise integrated envi ronment,andhinted atthe identity issuesitraised forhim. Itwas really avery paradoxical existence,hereIam ina school that's35percent Black, yO\! know,and I'm the only Black inmy classes .... That always struck me as odd.Iguess Ifelt that I was different fromtheother Blacks because of that.

In addition tothe changes takingplacewithin school, thereare changes inthe social dynamics outsideschool.Formany parents, puberty raisesanxiety aboutinterracial dating. In raciallymixed com- Identity Development inAdolescence 57 munities, you begin to see what Icall thebirthday partyeffect.Young children's birthdaypartiesinmultiracial communities are oftena reflection of the community's diversity. The parties of elementary school children maybesegregated bygender but not by race. At puberty, when the parties become sleepovers or boy"girl events, they become lessand lessracially diverse. , Blackgirls,especially in predominandy White communities, may gradually become aware thatsomething haschanged. When their White friends start to date, theydonot. The issues of emerging sex uality andthesocietal messages about who issexuallydesirable leave young Blackwomen inavery devalued position. One youngwoman from aPhiladelphia suburbdescribed herself as"pursuing White guys throughout highschool" to no avail. Since therewere no Black boys in her class,shehad litde choice. She would feel"really pissed off" thatthose same White boys would date her White friends. Forher, "that prom thingwaslike out of the question."8 Though Black girlsliving in thecontext of alarger Black com munity mayhave more social choices, theytoohave tocontend with devaluing messagesabout who theyare and who they willbecome, especially ifthey are poor or working-class. As social scientists Bonnie RossLeadbeater and Niobe Way point out, The schooldrop-out, the teenage welfaremother, the drug addict, and thevictim of domestic violence or of AIDSare among themost prevalent publicimages of poor and working-class urbanadolescent girls .... Yet, despitetherisks inherent in economic disadvantage, the majority of poor urbanadeolescent girls do not fitthe stereotypes that are madeabout them. 9 Resisting thestereotypes and affirming other definitions of them selves ispart of the task facing young Black women in both White andBlack communities. As wasillustrated in theexample of David, Blackboysalsoface a 58 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context devaluedstatusinthe wider world. The all too familiar mediaimage of ayoung Blackman with his hands cuffed behind hisback, arrested foraviolent crime, has primed manyto view young Black men withsuspicion and fear. In thecontext of predominandy White schools,however, Blackboysmayenjoy adegree of social success, par ticularly iftheyareathletically talented. The culture has embracedthe Black athlete, andtheyoung man who canfulfill thatrole is often pursued byBlack girlsand White girlsalike. But even these young men will encounter experiences that maytrigger an examination of their racial identity. Sometimes theexperience isquite dramatic. The Autobiography of Malcolm X isaclassic tale of racialidentity development, andIassign itto my psychology of racism students forjust that reason. As ajunior highschool student, Malcolm was astar. Despite the fact that he was separated fromhisfamily andliving inafoster home, hewas anAstu dent andwas elected president of his class. One day he hadaconver sation with his English teacher, whom heliked andrespected, about his futurecareergoals.Malcolm saidhewanted to be alawyer. His teacher responded, "That'snorealistic goalforanigger," andadvised him to consider carpentry instead. 10The messagewasclear: You are a Black male,yourracial group membership matters,planaccordingly.

Malcolm's emotionalresponse was typical-anger, confusion,and alienation. He withdrewfromhis White classmates, stoppedpartici pating in class, and eventually lefthispredominately whiteMichigan home tolive with his sister in Roxbury, aBlack community in Boston. No teacher would say suchathing now,youmay be thinking: but don't be sosure. Itiscertainly less likely thatateacher wouldusethe word nigger, but consider thesecontemporary examplessharedby highschool students. Ayoung ninth-grade student was sittingin his homeroom. Asubstitute teacher was in charge of the class. Because themajority of students fromthisschool goontocollege, sheused the free time to ask thestudents abouttheircollege plans. As asub stitute shehad very limited information abouttheiracademic perfor- Identity Development inAdolescence 59 mance,butsheoffered somesuggestions. When sheturned tothis young man,one of fewBlack malesinthe class, she suggested that he consideracommunity college.Shehadrecommended four-year collegesto the other students. LikeMalcolm, thisstudent gotthe message.

Inanother example, a young Black woman attending- adese,gre gatedschool to which she was bussed was encouraged bya teacherto attend theupcoming schooldance.Most of theBlack students did not liveinthe neighborhood andseldom attended theextracurricu laractivities. The young woman indicated thatshewasn't planning to come. The well-intentioned teacherwaspersistent. Finallytheteacher said, "Oh come on,I know you people lovetodance." Thisyoung woman got themessage, too. Coping with Encounters: Developing an Dppositionalldentity Whatdothese encounters havetodo with thecafeteria? Do experi ences with racism inevitably resultinso-called self-segregation?

While certainly adesire toprotect oneselffromfurther offense is understandable, it isnot theonly factor atwork. Imagine theyoung eighth-grade girl who experiencedtheteacher's use of "you people" and thedancing stereotype as aracial affront. Upsetandstruggling with adolescent embarrassment, shebumps intoaWhite friend who canseethat something is wrong. Sheexplains. Her White friend responds, inan effort tomake herfeel better perhaps, and says, "Oh, Mr.Smith is such anice guy, I'm sure he didn't meanitlike that. Don't be sosensitive." PerhapstheWhite friend is right,and Mr. Smith didn'tmean it, butimagine your own response when you are upset,perhaps withaspouse or partner. He or she asks what's wrong and you explain whyyouareoffended.Your partnerbrushes off your complaint, attributing itto your being oversensitive. Whathappens to your emotional thermostat? It escalates. When feelings,rationalor irrational, areinvalidated, mostpeople disengage. They not only choosetodiscontinue theconversation but are morelikely toturn to 60 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context someone who will understandtheirperspective. In much thesame way, the eighth-grade girl'sWhite frienddoesn't get it. Shedoesn't seethe significance of this racial message, butthe girls atthe "Black table"do. When shetells herstory there, one of them islikelyto say, "Youknow what,Mr.Smith saidthesame thing tome yesterday!" Not only are Black adolescents encountering racism andreflecting on their identity, but their White peers, even when they are not the perpetrators (andsometimes theyare),areunprepared to respond insupportive ways. The Blackstudents turn toeach other for the much needed support theyare not likely tofind anywhere else. Ill' adolescence, as racebecomes personally salientforBlack youth, finding theanswer toquestions such as, "What does itmeanto be ayoung Blackperson? How should Iact? What should Ido?" is particularly important. And althoughBlackfathers, mothers, aunts,.

and uncles mayhold theanswers byoffering. themselves as role mod els, theyhold little appeal formost adolescents. The lastthing many fourteen-year-olds wanttodo isto grow up to be like their parents.

It isthe peer group, thekids in the cafeteria, who hold theanswers to these questions. They know how to be Black. They haveabsorbed the stereotypical images of Blackyouth inthe popular cultureandare reflecting thoseimages intheir self-presentation. Based on theirfieldwork inU.S. high schools, Signithia Fordham and John Ogbu identified a common psychological patternfound among African American highschool students atthis stage of iden titydevelopment." They observed thattheanger andresentment that adolescents feel in responsetotheir growing awareness of thesys tematic exclusion of Blackpeople fromfullparticipation inU.S. soci ety leads tothe development of anoppositional socialidentity. This oppositional stance both protectsone'sidentity fromthepsychologi cal assault of racism andkeeps thedominant groupatadistance. Fordham and Ogbu write: Subordinate minoritiesregardcertain forms of behav ior and certain activities orevents, symbols, and mean- Identity Development inAdolescence 61 ings as not appropriate for them because those behaviors, events,symbols, andmeanings are characteristic of white Americans. At thesame timethey emphasize other forms of behavior as more appropriate for them becausethese are not apart of white Americans' way of life. Tobehave inthe manner defined as fallingwithin a white cultural frame of reference is to "act white" and is negatively sanctioned. 12 Certainstyles of speech,dress,andmusic, forexample, maybe embraced as "authentically Black"andbecome highlyvalued, while attitudes andbehaviors associated withWhites are viewed with dis dain. The peergroups's evaluation of what isBlackandwhat isnot can have apowerful impact on adolescent behavior. Reflecting on her highschool years, one Black woman froma White neighborhood described both thepain of being rejected by herBlack classmates andherattempts toconform toher peer's defi nition of Blackness: "Oh you sound White, youthink you're White," they said.

And the idea of sounding White was just soabsurd to me .... So ninth grade wassort of traumatic in that Istarted listening torap music, which Ireally just don't like. [Isaid] I'm gonna be Black, anditwas just that stu pid. But it's more thanjust how oneacts, you know:. [The other Black women there] were not into me for the longest time. My firstyear there was hell. Sometimes theemergence of an oppositional identity canbe quite dramatic. as theyoung person tries on anew persona almost overnight. Atthe end of one school year, race may nothave appeared to be significant, butoften some encounter takes placeoverthesum mer andtheyoung person returns toschool muchmoreaware of his or her Blackness andready tomake surethattherest of the 62 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context world isaware of it, too.There isacertain "inyour face" quality that theseadolescents cantake on,which theirteachers oftenexperience as threatening. When agroup of Black teensaresitting together in the cafeteria, collectively embodying an oppositional stance,school administrators wantto know not only why they are sitting together, butwhat can be done toprevent it. We need tounderstand that inracially mixedsettings, racial grouping isadevelopmental processinresponse toan environmental stressor, racism.Joining with one'speers forsupport inthe face of stress is apositive copingstrategy. What is problematic is thatthe young people areoperating withavery limited definition of whatit means to be Black,basedlargely on cultural stereotypes. Oppositionalldentily Development and Academic Achievement Unfortunately forBlack teenagers, thosecultural stereotypes do not usuallyinclude academic achievement. Academicsuccess is more oftenassociated withbeing White. During theencounter phase of racialidentity development, when thesearch foridentity leads toward culturalstereotypes and away fromanything thatmight beassociated with Whiteness, academicperformance oftendeclines. Doing wellin school becomes identified astryingtobeWhite. Beingsmartbecomes the opposite of being cool. While this frame of reference is not universally foundamong adolescents ofAfrican descent, it iscommonly observedinBlack peer groups. Among theBlack college students Ihave interviewed, many describedsomeconflict oralienation fromother African American teens because of theiracademic successinhigh school. Forexample, atwenty-year-old femalefromaWashington, nc., suburb explained: Itwas weird,eveninhigh school alot of the Black stu dentswere,like,"Well, you're not reallyBlack."Whether it was because Ibecame president of thesixth-grade class orwhatever itwas, itstarted prettymuchback Identity Development inAdolescence 63 then.Junior high,itgot worse. I was then labeled cer tainthings, whether itwas"the area" orIwasn't really Black. Others described avoidingsituations thatwould setthem apart from theirBlack peers.Forexample, oneyoung woman declined to participate inagifted program inher school because· sheknew it would separate her fromtheother Black students inthe school.

In astudy of thirty-three eleventh-graders in aWashington, nc., school, Fordham and Ogbu foundthat·although some of thestudents had once been academically successful,few of themremained so.

These students alsoknew thatto be identified as a"hrainiac" would result in peer rejection. The few students who hadmaintained strong academicrecordsfoundwaystoplay down theiracademic success enoughtomaintain somelevel of acceptance amongtheirBlack peers. 13 Academically successfulBlackstudents also needastrategy tofind acceptance amongtheirWhite classmates. Fordhamdescribesone suchstrategy as racelessness, wherein individuals assimilateintothe dominant groupbyde-emphasizing characteristicsthatmight iden tify them as members of the subordinate group." Jon, ayoung manI interviewed, offeredaclassic example of thisstrategy as he described hisapproach todealing with his discomfort atbeing theouly Black person inhis advanced classes. He said, "At no point didIever think I was White or did Iever want to be White .... Iguess itwas one of those things where Itried tode-emphasize thefact that I was Black." This strategy ledhim toavoid activities thatwere associated with Blackness. He recalled, "I didn't wanttodo anything that was tradi tionally Black,likeInever played basketball. Iran cross-country .... I went fordistance running instead of sprints." He felt he hadtoshow his White classmates thatthere were"exceptions to all thesestereo types." However, thisstrategy was of limitedusefulness. When he trav eledoutside his home community withhis White teammates, he sometimes encountered overtracism. "I quickly realized thatI'm 64 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Conlexl Black,andthat's thething thatthey're goingtosee first, no matter how much Itry tode-emphasize myBlackness." A Black student canplay down Black identity in ordertosucceed in school and mainstream institutionswithoutrejecting his BI~ck identity and culture. 'S Instead of becoming raceless, an achieving Blackstudent canbecome an emissary, someone who seeshis or her own achievements as advancing thecause of the racial group. For example, socialscientists RichardZweigenhaft and G. William Domhoff describe how asuccessful Blackstudent, inresponse tothe accusation of acting White, connected hisachievement tothat of other Black men by saying, "Martin LutherKing IT..ust not have been Black,then,since hehad adoctoral degree,andMalcolm Xmust not have been Black sinceheeducated himselfwhileinprison." In addi tion, hedemonstrated his loyalty tothe Black community bytaking an openly political stanceagainst theracial discrimination heobserved in hisschool. 16 Itisclear thatanoppositional identitycaninterfere with acade mic achievement, andit may be tempting foreducators toblame the adolescents themselvesfortheir academic decline.However, theques tions thateducators andother concerned adultsmust ask are, How didacademic achievement becomedefined as exclusively White behavior? What isitabout thecurriculum andthewider culture that reinforces thenotion thatacademic excellence isanexclusively White domain? Whatcurricular interventions might we usetoencourage the development of anempowered emissaryidentity? An oppositional identity that disdainsacademic achievement has not always beenacharacteristic of Black adolescent peergroups. It seems tobe apost-desegregation phenomenon.Historically,the oppositional identity foundamong African Americans inthe segre gated South included apositive attitudetowardeducation. While Black people mayhave publicly deferred toWhites, theyactively encouraged theirchildren topursue education as aticket togreater freedom." WhileBlackparents stillseeeducation as the key to upward mobility, intoday's desegregated schoolsthemodels of suc- Identity Development inAdolescence 65 cess-the teachers,administrators, andcurricular heroes-are almost always White.

Black Southern schools,thoughstigmatized bylegally sanctioned segregation, wereoften staffed by African American educators, them selvesvisible models of academic achievement. These Blackeducators mayhave presented acurriculum thatincluded references tothe intellectuallegaey of other African Americans. Aswell, inthe context of asegregated school,it was agiven thatthehigh achieving students would allbe Black.Academic achievementdid not havetomean sep aration fromone's Black peers.

The Search for Alternative Images Thishistorical examplereminds us thatanoppositional identitydis couraging academicachievement is notinevitable eveninaracist society. Ifyoung people are exposed toimages of Mrican American academic achievement intheir early years, theywon't havetodefine school achievement as something forWhites only. They will know that there isalong history of Black intellectual achievement.

This point wasmade quiteeloquently byJon, theyoung manI quoted earlier. Though he madethechoice toexcel inschool, he labored underthefalse assumption that he was"inventing the wheel." It wasn'tuntil he reached collegeandhad theopportunity to take African American studiescourses that he learned aboutotherAfrican Americans besidesMartin LutherKing,Malcolm X,and Frederick Douglass-the same three men he hadheard about yearafter year, from kindergarten to highschoolgraduation. As hereflected on his identity struggle inhigh school, he said:

It's like I went through threephases .... My firstphase was being cool, doing whatever wasparticularly cool forBlack people at the time,andthat was like in junior high. Then inhigh school, you·know, Ithought being Black was basically all stereotypes, so I tried toavoid all 66 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context of thosethings. Now incollege, youknow, Irealize that being Black means avariety of things.

Learning hishistory in college was of great psychological impor tance toJon, providing him with rolemodels he hadbeen missing in high school. He was particularly inspiredbylearning of the intellec tual legacy of Black men athis own college: When you look atthose guys who werehereinthe Twenties, theycouldn't live on campus. They couldn't eat on campus. They couldn't get theirhair cu.t intown. And yet they were allPhi Beta Kappa .... That's what being Black really is, youknow, knowing who youare, your history, youraccomplishments .... When Iwas in junior high, Ihad White role models. And then when I got into high school, youknow, Iwasn't sure but Ijust didn't thinkhaving White rolemodels was agood thing. SoIgot rid of those. AndIbasically just,you know, onlyhadmyparents forrole models. Ikind of grew upthinking that we were on the cutting edge.We were doing something radicallydifferent thanevery body else.And not realizing thatthere areallkinds of Black people doingthevery things thatIthought we were theonly onesdoing .... You've gottodo the very best youcansothat you cancontinue thegreat tradi tionsthathave already been established. This young manwasnotalone inhis frustration overhaving learned littleabout his own cultural historyingrade school. Time and again inthe research interviews Iconducted, Blackstudents lamented theabsence of courses inAfrican American historyorliter ature atthe high school levelandindicated how significant this new learning was tothem incollege, how excited andaffirmed theyfelt by this newfound knowledge. Sadly, manyBlack students nevergetto Identity Development inAdolescence 67 college,alienated fromtheptocess of education longbefore high school graduation. They maynever getaccess tothe information that mighthavehelped themexpand theirdefinition of what itmeans to be Black and,inthe ptocess, mighthavehelped them stayinschool.

Young people aredevelopmentally readyforthis information inado lescence. Weought toprovide it. NDt at the Table As we have seen, Jon felt he had to distance himselffromhisBlack peers in order tobe successful in high school. He was one of thekids not sitting at the Black _table. Continued encounters with racismand access to new culturally relevantinformation empowered him togive up his racelessness and become anemissary. Incollege, not only did hesitatthe Black table,but he emerged as acampus leader,confident in the support of hisBlack peers. Hisexample illustrates thatone's presence at theBlack table is often an expression of one'sidentity development, which evolves overtime. Some Blackstudents may not bedevelopmentally readyforthe Black table injunior or senior highschool. They may not yethave had their own encounters with racism, andrace may not be very salient forthem. Just aswedon't allreach puberty andbegin developing sex ualinterest atthe same time,racial identity development unfoldsin idiosyncratic ways. Though my researchsuggeststhatadolescence isa common time, one's own lifeexperiences are also important deter minants ofthe"timing.The young person whose racialidentity devel opment is out of synch with his or herpeers oftenfeelsinan awk ward position. Adolescents are notoriously egocentricandassume that their experience isthe same as everyone else's.Just as girls who have become interested inboys become disdainful of theirfriends still interested indolls, theBlack teens who areatthe table canbequite judgmental towardthose who arenot. "If! think it isasign of authen tic Blackness tosit atthis table, thenyoushould too." The young Black men and women who stillhang around with 68 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context the White classmatestheymayhave known since earlychildhood will often besnubbed bytheir Black peers.Thisdynamic is particularly apparent in regional schoolswherechildren fromavariety of neigh borhoods arebrought together. When Blackchildren frompredomi nandy White neighborhoods gotoschool withBlack children from predominandy Blackneighborhoods, theformer group is often viewed as trying to be White bythe latter group. Weallspeak thelan guage of the streets welive on.Black children livingin White neigh borhoods oftensound White totheir Black peersfromacross town, andmay be teased because of it.This canbeavery painful experi ence,particularly when theyoung person isnot fully accepted aspart of the White peer groupeither. One young Blackwoman fromapredominandy White commu nity described exactlythissituation in aninterview. Inaschool with a lot of racial tension, Terri felt that"the worst thingthathappened" was the rejection sheexperienced fromthe other Black children who werebeing bussed to her school. Though shewanted to be friends with them,theyteased her,calling heran"orea cookie" and some timesbeating herup. The only close Black friend Terrihadwas abira cial girl from her neighborhood.

Racial tensions alsoaffected herrelationships with White stu dents. One White friend'sparentscommented, "I can'tbelieve you're Black.You don'tseemlikeallthe Black children.You're nice."Though otherparents madesimilar comments, Terrireported thather White friends didn'tstart making them until junior highschool, when Terri's Blackness becamesomething to be explained. One friendintroduced Terri toanother Whitegirl by saying, "She's not reallyBlack, shejust went to Florida andgotareally dark tan." A White sixth-grade "boyfriend" becameembarrassed when hisfriends discovered hehad a crush on aBlack girl. He stopped tellingTerri how prettyshewas, and instead calledher"nigger" andsaid, "Your lipsaretoo big. Idon't want tosee you. Iwon't heyour friend anymore." Despite supportive parents who expressedconcernabouthersit uation, Terrisaidshe was a"very depressed child." Her fatherwould Identity Development inAdolescence 69 haveconversations withher "about being Black andbeautiful" and about "the union of people of colorthathadalways existed thatI needed tofind. And the pride." However, herparents did not havea network of Black friends tohelp support her.

It was theintetvention of aBlack juniot high school teacher that Terri feels helped her the most. Mrs.Campbell "reallyexposed me to the good Black community becauseI was so down on it"by getting Terri involved insinging gospelmusicandintroducing hertoother Black students who would accept her."That's when Istarted having other Blackfriends. And Ithank her a lot for that." The significant rolethatMrs. Campbell playedinhelping Terri openupillustrates theconstructive potentialthatinformed adultscan have in the identity development process.Sherecognized Terri's need forasame-race peergroup andhelped herfind one.Talking togroups of Black students aboutthevariety of living situations Blackpeople come from and theunique situation facingBlackadolescents in White communities helpstoexpand thedefinition of what itmeans to be Black andincreases intragroup acceptance at atime when that isquite important.

Forchildren inTerri's situation, it isalsohelpful forBlack parents toprovide ongoing opportunities fortheir children toconnect with other Black peerseven ifthatmeans traveling outsidethe commu nitythey livein.Race-conscious parentsoftendothis byattending a Blackchurch ormaintaining tiestoBlack socialorganizations such as JackandJill. Parents who make thiseffort oftenfindthattheir chil dren become bicultural, abletomove comfortably betweenBlackand White communities, andable tosit atthe Black table when theyare ready. Implied inthis discussion istheassumption thatconnecting with one's Black peersinthe process of identity development isimportant and should be encouraged. Foryoung Blackpeople livinginpre dominantly Blackcommunities, suchconnections occursponta neously withneighbors andclassmates andusually do not require spe cial encouragement. However,for young peopleinpredominantly 70 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context White communitiestheymay only occur with active parental inter vention. One might wonder ifthissocial connection isreally neces sary. If ayoung person has foundaniche among acircle of White friends, isit really necessary toestablish aBlack peergroup as arefer ence point? Eventually itis. As one'sawareness of thedaily challenges of living in aracist soci ety increase, it isimmensely helpfultobe able toshare one'sexperi ences with others who have lived it.Even when White friends are willing andable tolisten andbear witness toone's struggles, theycan not really sharetheexperience. One young woman came tothis real ization inher senior year of highschool: [The isolation] neverreallybothered me untilabout senior yearwhen I was theonly oneinthe class .... That little burden, thatconstant burden of youalways having tostrive to do yourbestand show thatyou can do just as much as everybody else.Your White friends can't understand that,and it's really hard to communi cate to them. Only someone else of thesame racial, sameethnic background wouldunderstand something like that. When one isfaced with what Chester Pierce calls the"mundane extreme environmental stress" of racism,inadolescence or inadult hood, theability tosee oneself as part of alarger group from which one candraw support isan important coping strategy. ISIndividuals who do not havesuch astrategy available to them becausetheydo not experience ashared identity with atleast some subset of their racial group are at riskforconsiderable socialisolation. Of course. who we perceive as sharing ouridentity maybeinflu enced byother dimensions of identity such as gender,social class, geographical location,skincolor. orethnicity. Forexample, research indicatesthatfirst-generation Blackimmigrants fromtheCaribbean tend toemphasize theirnational originsandethnic identities, dis- Identity Development inAdolescence 71 tancingthemselves from u.s. Blacks,dueinpart totheir belief that West Indians are viewed morepositively by Whites thanthose American Blackswhosefamilyrootsinclude theexperience of u.s. slavery. Torelinquish one'sethnic identity asWestIndian andtake on an Mrican American identitymaybeunderstood as downward so~ial mobility. However, second-generation WestIndians without an iden tifiable accentmaylosetherelative ethnicprivilege theirparents experienced andseek racial solidarity with Black American peersin the face of encounters with racism. 19Whether itisthe experience of being followed in storesbecause theyaresuspected of shoplifting, see ingpeople respond tothem with fear on thestreet, orfeeling over looked in school,Blackyouth canbenefit fromseeking support from those who havehadsimilar experiences. An Alternative to the Cafeteria Table The developmental needtoexplore themeaning of one's identity with others who are engaged inasimilar process manifests itself informally inschool corridors andcafeterias acrossthecountry. Some educational institutionshavesought to meet this need progranunati cally. Severalcolleagues andIrecently evaluated onesuch effort, ini tiated ataMassachusetts middleschoolparticipating inavoluntary desegregation program known as theMetropolitan Councilfor Educational Opportunity (METCO) program.'" Historically,the smallnumber of African American students who are bussedfrom Bostontothis suburban schoolhaveachieved disappointing levels of academicsuccess.Inan effort toimprove academic achievement, the school introduced aprogram, known as Student Efficacy Training (SET)thatallowed Bostonstudents tomeet eachday as agroup with two staff members. Instead of being in physicaleducation or home economics or studyhall,they were meeting, talkingabouthomework difficulties, socialissues, andencounters with racism. The meeting was mandatory and at firstthestudents wereresentful of missing some of theirclasses. But theimpact wasdramatic. Said one young woman, 72 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context In thebeginning of the year, Ididn't wanttodo SET at all. Ittook away mystudy andit was only METCO stu dents doing it. In thebeginning all we didwas argue over certain problems or itwas more likea rap session and Ididn't thinkitwas helping anyone. But then when welooked atrecords ... Iknow that lastyear out of all the students, sixththrough eighthgrade,therewas,like, six who were actually goodstudents. Everyone else,it was just pathetic, Imean, like,they were getting likeDs and Fs.... The eighth grade isdoing much betterthis year. Imean, they went fromDsand Fs to Bs and Cs and occasional As .... And those seventh-graders are doingreallygood, theyhave a lot of honor rollstudents in seventh grade, both guysandgirls. Yeah,· it'sbeen good. It'sreally good. Her report isborne out by anexamination of school records. The opportunity tocome together inthe company of supportive adults allowed theseyoung Blackstudents to talk abouttheissues that hin dered their performance-racial encounters, feelings of isolation,test anxiety,homework dilemmas-in thepsychological safety of their own group.Inthe process, thepeer culture changed toone that sup ported academic performance ratherthanundermined it, as revealed in these two students' comments: Well,a lot of theBoston students, theboys andthegirls, used tofight allthe time. And now, theystopped yelling at each other so much and calling each other stupid.

It's like we've allbecome likeonebigfamily, we share things more with eachother. Wetease each other like brother andsister. Welook out foreach other with homework andstuff. Wealways stay on top of each other' cause we know it's hard with African American Identity Development inAdolescence 73 students to go to apredominantly White school and try to succeed with everybody else. The faculty,too,were veryenthusiastic aboutthe outcomes of the intervention, as seen in the comments of these two classroom teachers: This ptogram hasprobably produced the most dra matic result of any single change that I'veseen at this school. It has produced immediate resultsthataffected behavior andacademics andparticipation in school life. My students are more engaged. They aren'tbattling out alot of theissues of their anger about being in aWhite community, cominginfrom Boston, wheredoI fit, I don't belong here. Ifeel that those issues thatoften came out in class aren't coming out in classanymore. I think theyare being discussed in the SET room, the kids feel more confidence. The kids' grades arehigher, the homework response isgreater, they're not afraid to participate in class,andIdon't see them isolating them selves within class. They are willing to sit with other students happily .... Ithink it's made avery positive impact on theirplace inthe school and on their indi vidual self-esteem. Isee them enjoying themselves and able to enjoy all of us as individuals. Ican't say enough, it's been the best thing that'shappened to the METCO program as far as I'mconcerned. 21 Although thisintervention isnot amiracle cureforevery school, itdoes highlight what can happen when we think about the devel opmental needs of Blackadolescents coming to terms with their own sense of identity. Itmight seem counterintuitive thata school involved in avoluntary desegregation programcouldimprove both academic performance andsocial relationships among students by separating the 74 Understanding Blackness inaWhite Context Blackstudents forone period every day. But ifwe understand the unique challenges facingadolescents of colorandthelegitimate need they have tofeel supported intheir identiry development, itmakes perfect sense. Though theymay not usethelanguage of racial identity devel opment theorytodescribe it, most Black parents wanttheirchildren toachieve an internalized sense of personalsecurity,tohe able to acknowledge thereality of racism andtorespond effectively toit. Our educational institutionsshould do whattheycantoencourage this development ratherthanimpede it. When Italk toeducators about theneed toprovide adolescents with identity-affirming experiences andinformation abouttheirowncultural groups,theysometimes flounder because this information has notbeen part of their own education. Their understanding of adolescent development has been limitedtothe White middle-class normsincluded inmost textbooks, their knowledge of Black history limited toMartin LutherKing,]r., and Rosa Parks. They sometimes say with frustration thatparents should provide this kind of education for their children.

Unfortunately Blackparents oftenattended thesame schools the teachers didand have thesame informational gaps.Weneed to acknowledge thatanimportant part of interrupting thecycle of oppression isconstant re-education, andsharing what we learn with thenext generation. 248 Notes 18. L.Derman-Sparksandthe ABC Task Force, Anti-bias curriculum: 7001s for cmpowcriug young children (Washington, DC: National Association forthe Education of Young Children, 1989).

19. Ibid.,p.77. Chapler 4 1. J.Marcia, "Development andvalidation of ego identity status," jOHntal r1 Personality and Social Psychology 3(1966): 551-58. 2. For areview of the research on ethnic identity in adolescents, see J. Phinney, "Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research," Psychological Bulletin 108,no.3(1990): 499-514. See also "Part I:Identity development" in B.J.R. Leadbeater and N. Way (Eds.), Urban girls: Resisting stereotypes, creating idclltities (New York: New York University Press, 1996).

3. W. E. Cross, Jr., Shades if Black: Diversity in African-American identity (Philadelphia:Temple UniversityPress,1991).

4. For anexpanded discussion of "race-conscious" parenting, See in B. D. Tatum, Assimilation blues, ch.6. 5. J.S.Phinney and S.Tarver, "Ethnic identitysearchand commitment in Blackand White eighth graders," Journal ofEarly Adolescence 8,no. 3(1988):

265-77. 6. See B. D.Tatum, "African-American identity,academic achievement, and missing history," Social Education 56,no.6(1992): 331-34; B. D. Tatum, "Racial identity andrelational theory: The case of Black women inWhite communities," in M/ork in progress, no. 63(Wellesley, MA:Stone Center Working Papers,1992); B. D.Tatum, "Out there stranded? Black youth in White communities," pp. 214-33 in H. McAdoo (Ed.), Blackfamilies, 3d ed. (ThousandOaks,CA:Sage, 1996).

7.For an in-depth discussion of thenegative effects of tracking in schools, see J.Oakes, Keeping track: How schools structure inequality (New Haven: Yale University Press,1985).

8. For further discussion of thesocial dynamics forBlack youth inWhite communities, seeTatum, "Out there stranded?" 9. Leadbeater and Way, Urban girls, p.5. 10. A. Haley andMalcolm X, TIle autobiography of Malcolm X (New York:

Grove Press,1965), p.36. Notes 249 11. S.Fordham and J.Ogbu, "Black student'sschoolsuccess: Coping with the burden of 'actingWhite,'" Urban Review 18(1986): 176-206. 12. Ibid., p.181. 13. For anexpanded discussion of the "trying tobe White" pheno;11enon, see Fordham and Ogbu, "Blackstudents' schoolsuccess," and S.Fordham, "Racelessness as a factor in Black students' schoolsuccess: Pragmatic strat egy or Pyrrhic victory?" Harvard Educational Review 58,no.1(1988): 54-84. 14. Fordham, "Racelessness asafactor inBlack students' school success." See also S.Fordham, Blacked out: Dilemmas ifrace, identity, and success at Capital High (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). 15.For further discussion of thispoint, see R. Zwcigenhaft and G. W. Domhoff, Blacks inthe VVhite establishment? Astudy ifrace and class inAmerica (New Haven:YaleUniversityPress,1991),p. 155. 16.Ibid.

17. Ibid., p.156. 18. C. Pierce, "Mundane extreme environment anditseffects on learning," in S. G. Brainard (Ed.), Learning disabilitics: Issucs afld recommendations for research (Washington, DC: NationalInstitute of Education, 1975).

19. See M. C.Waters, "The intersection ofgender, race,andethnicity in iden titydevelopment of Caribbean Americanteens,"in B.J.R. Leadbeater and N. Way(Eds.), Urbatl girls: Rcsistiflg stereotypes, creating identities (New York: New York University Press,1996).

20.

The Metropolitan CouncilforEducational Opportunity (METCO) pro gram was established in 1966 under thestate's Racial Imbalance Lawpassed by the Massachusetts General Court in 1965. METCO was establishedtoprovide (1) the opportunity foranintegrated publicschool education forurban Black children and other children of colorfromracially imbalanced schools in Bostonbyplacing them insuburban schools, (2) anew learningexperience for suburban children,and (3) acloser understanding andcooperation between urban andsuburban parentsandother citizens inthe Boston metropolitan area.

Thirty-four suburbancommunities participate in the METCO program.

21. For amore complete description of theprogram anditsevaluation, see B. D.Tatum, P.C. Brown, P.Elliott, and T.Tatum, "Student efficacy training: An evaluation of onemiddle school's programmatic responsetothe Eastern Massachusetts Initiative" (presented atthe American Educational Research Association AnnualMeeting, April9,1996, New York).