After working through this module, you will be able to:
IntroductionIn her groundbreaking work, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: and Other Conversations about Race, Dr. Beverly Tatum argues that youth of color and Indigenous youth develop their racial and ethnic identity through socialization. In other words, their lived experiences shape how they come to understand what it means to be Black, African American, Latinx, Asian American, Native, or biracial in the United States, and to interrogate how their racial identity impacts their current and future lives. Their lived experiences are informed by their experiences at home, in their communities, and in school, but also by the messages and images sent by the media, books, curriculum, social institutions, and political leaders. Show
Tatum contends that many BIYOC, unless they grow up in homes and communities (including schools), that are race-conscious – “that is, actively seeking to encourage positive racial identity by providing their children with positive cultural images and messages about what it means to be a [BIPOC]” – often absorb the beliefs and values of the dominant Eurocentric culture (134). This includes that whites are the preferred group. This leads some young children of color to value the beliefs, lifestyles, and images of beauty held by the white dominant group more highly than those of their own racial and ethnic group. Who is…Dr. Beverly Tatum To learn more about Dr. Tatum and her work:
During adolescence, youth of color and Indigenous youth begin to develop a new understanding of their race and ethnicity as they are confronted by the personal and collective impact of racism on people of color and Native people. They begin to reject the beliefs, lifestyles, and images of beauty held by the dominant white culture, turning to members of their own ethnic and racial group to find the answer to questions like: “What does it mean to be a [Black, Latinx, Asian, Native, or biracial] person? How do I act? What should I do?” (143). During this period some adolescents of color or Indigenous teens will adopt an oppositional stance, rejecting school activities associated with academic success that they perceive as “acting white.” This is most often true for those who attend schools “where only whites (usually wealthy whites), or disproportionately few [youth of color] have the opportunities to participate in higher-level programs and courses” (Tyson, 2006, 41). Some BIYOC will adopt a resistance stance, making a conscious decision to challenge the dominant school culture as a way of safeguarding themselves from potentially painful or damaging interactions (Kinloch, 2017). This might include behaviors such as eye-rolling, silence, sharp verbal responses, absence, and disinterest. There are other BIYOC who will embrace academic success. They know that education is their right and they see it as a way for them to create change in their communities. It is also important for educators and librarians to consider two additional concepts related to racial and ethnic identity formation – essentialism and intersectionality. Essentialism is “the belief that all people perceived to be in a single group [in this case racial, ethnic, or tribal group] think, act, and believe the same things in the same way” (Ladson-Billings, 2013, p. 40). BIPOC do not relinquish their individual perspectives, lifestyles, likes/dislikes, etc. just because they belong to the same racial or ethnic group. Librarians and educators need to guard against essentializing the perspectives and experiences of BIYOC and to instead view them as individuals whose identity formation is impacted by a plethora of factors, not just their race or ethnicity. This brings us to intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), to refer to people’s overlapping identities. Intersectionality recognizes that identity markers (e.g. “female” and “Latina” and “lesbian”) do not exist independently of each other. Instead, each informs the other. Overlapping identities of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and so forth create a complex system that impacts identity formation and helps to explain the complexity of prejudices and oppression BIYOC face. As this short introduction to racial and ethnic identity shows, understanding how educators and librarians can support the positive racial identity of BIYOC is critical to helping them achieve their full potential.
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