Over the past few weeks I have been reading the book "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria" This book is about race and what it effects mainly inside of the United States. For the final section me and my book group read from pages two hundred ninety nine to three hundred fifty eight. This blog post will be reflecting on the general message of the book and the ideas that should be taken away from it. The question that the author stated at the beginning of the book was along the lines of has anything changed since she wrote her last book. At the end of the book she states on page 358 "No, not yet, but it could be." I would argue against this.
One of the major things that I would cite to show that her conclusion was wrong would be the recent Black Lives Matter protests. As long as there is a majority that wishes for change it is inevitable that change will come. As all civil rights movements in the past, first people must come together for things to happen. Over the summer hundred of thousands of people were seen coming out to support the marginalized community's in our country. I do realize that the author wrote this passage before this summer and because of that she could be right at the time of writing. The major gap in my understanding of civil rights would have to be in the early 2000s because I was a baby at the time and later in life studied current events and earlier civil rights movements. However, based off examples in the book I would still argue that there was change during those years as well.
Overall the author established her main point and used a plethora of examples and data points to back it. She connected big ideas using these smaller points to paint the picture of her main thesis for the book. She mainly relied on an appeal to logos which may have been a wise choice strategically when considering her audience. If I were her I would try and explain her ideas to people of polar opposite political views and try and make them see where she is coming from. In my opinion, logos is the strongest of the three appeals to others.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable read and a great way to educate yourself on modern and past issues in the united states regarding race. Weather you agreed with the authors main and supporting points throughout the book it made you think in depth in ways you may not have done before about race. As a white male, I really don't have race brought up all that often unless it is in academics or with friends from other races. This book was really good at bringing up topics that had a close relation with current events. Overall it was a great read and I would recommend it.
Hello Garrett, I enjoyed reading through your blog. I had the same ideas about the book, as I really enjoyed reading it and I learned a lot about race issues in the United States. I think that there has been a small amount of change, but not enough to be regularly noticed, which I think Dr Tatum explained well throughout the book. If there was a greater amount of change, I think the protests you discussed in your post wouldn't have happpend, as the protests were a result of people being fed up with the system.
ReplyDeleteJust some food for thought,
Emily
Nice post Garget,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you disagree with the books main claim and I understand your side of the argument. I think that you are right in saying that in the past year, there has been a lot of push for change relating to race. I agree that by now, it probably has gotten a bit better. However, I think it is important to distinguish between change for the better and equality as there are still many racial injustices all around right now. - Andrew
I like that you mentioned the change and progression that has occurred these past years. I think that we certainly are taking significant steps towards change on this topic of civil rights. With social media raging, I think that like you said, change is inevitable to come. Hopefully we can foster an environment where change doesn't have to take such hostile actions and initiative!
ReplyDeleteHi Garret!
ReplyDeleteI think your insight into how you feel unaffected by some of the systems in our country was very accurate. In my book I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the issues she was describing simply had nothing to do with me or our town. Good post!
Do you think the reasons behind the protests and marches of the last year would suggest that she was right, that race and the divisions it causes are still a major issue? I think the trial of Derek Chauvin will be an interesting turning point in this topic.
ReplyDelete