Dr. Tatum Racism Analysis

Discussion on Racism Dr. Tatum begins the first chapter by talking about a student who asks if racism is still a thing. She continues to write about how when she asks her students who grew up in the same racial group as their own, most students raise their hand. I mention this because it is true for me, not because I grew up purposely segregated from other races, but because there was a very small population of different races where I grew up. Almost everyone in my hometown, growing up, was unaware of different races. Because of this, kids I grew up with formed wrong prejudices and very narrow minds. Unfortunately, that was passed down from racist parents/influences and a lack of diversity in schools, activities, and everyday life. Tatum mentions …show more content…
Dr. Tatum mentions early in that section how racism is not just personal, but also a system that operates to the advantage of whites. In class, you also often mention how racism operates on the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Between reading Dr. Tatum’s book and attending class, I’ve been learning about how racism exists on many more levels than just personal. Tatum writes about white people acknowledging that they are white, but believe they have no power. I agree with Tatum when she writes that these people need to be honest and recognize that they do have power, even if they don’t feel like they do. She writes that every social indicator, whether it be salary or life expectancy, reveals the advantages of being white. When Dr. Tatum writes “People of color are not racist because they do not systematically benefit from racism.” I couldn’t agree more. I have heard the argument “black people can be racist” so many times, and my response is always the above statement. One more statement that Dr. Tatum mentions is about integrating a person’s past, present, and future into one’s sense of self is a hard thing to do. This is hard because multiple identifications defy the neat racial divisions. There is a famous artist, poet, and rapper that I like whose name is Jason Petty, but he goes by Propaganda. In much of his work he talks about how he doesn’t fit neatly into just one identification. In his song, Don’t Listen to Me, he raps “I’m the son of a black panther, with a Mexican spouse, and Caucasian best friends.” He identifies as all of these things, and I’m sure more, but none of these fit neatly into the divisions that society