Tatum p. 131-155 Identity Development in Adolescence
This chapter is the massive question of "Why ARE all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" This is a loaded question for many people to understand. If you are not a Black, Hispanic, Asian, or non-white person, then you might not understand why they are sitting together rather than mixing with other students. Reading this chapter, Tatum goes into a case with a student named David. David is a tall black student with many hobbies. He notices that when he was growing up that people would say that he was tall for his age, but would never say that he was black for his age. They would point out different aspects of his appearance, but they would never say anything about him being black. Rather than saying that he was black, he noticed things that others would do when he was around. White women would clutch their purses, lock their cars when he walked by, police officers asking if he actually owned the bike or if it was stolen. These were micro- agressons that he had to...
