Can We Talk About Race?: And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation

Major new reflections on race and schools–by the best-selling author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Beverly Daniel Tatum emerged on the national scene in 1997 with Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, a book that spoke to a wide audience about the psychological dynamics of race relations in America. Tatum’s unique ability to get people talking about race captured the attention of many, from Oprah Winfrey to President Clinton, who invited her to join him in his nationally televised dialogues on race.

In her first book since that pathbreaking success, Tatum starts with a warning call about increasing but underreported resegregation of America. A self-described integration baby –she was born in 1954–Tatum sees our growing isolation from each other as deeply problematic, and she believes that schools can be key institutioons for forging connections across the racial divide.

In this ambitious, accessible book, Tatum examines some of the most resonanat issues in American education and race relations:
The need of African American students to see themselves reflected in curricula and institutions
How unexamined racial attitutdes can negatively affect minority-student achievement
The possibilities–and complications–of intimate crossracial friendships

Tatum approaches all these topics with the blend of analysis and storytelling that make her one of our most persuasive and engaging commentators on race.

Can We Talk About Race? launches a collaborative lecture and book series between Beacon Press and Simmons College, which aims to reinvigorate a crucial national public conversation on race, education and democracy.