Groton Public Schools & Groton Public Library Book Discussion Group

The book discussion series,co-sponsored by the Groton Public Library and Groton Public Schools, features Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum on Tuesday, February 26, at 7 p.m.  Sean McKenna, Assistant Superintendent, will moderate the discussion.  Parents and community members are invited to attend. 

Walk into any racially mixed high school, and you will see black youth seated together in the cafeteria. It's not just the black kids sitting together - the white, Latino, Asian Pacific and American Indian youth are clustered in their own groups, too. What is going on here? How can we get past our reluctance to talk about racial issues? Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, asserts that we do not know how to talk about our racial differences; whites are afraid of using the wrong words and being perceived as "racist" while parents of color are afraid of exposing their children to painful racial realities too soon. Tatum presents strong evidence that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about facilitating communication across racial and ethnic divides. We have waited far too long to begin our conversations about race. This remarkable book has already helped hundreds of thousands of readers figure out where to start.

Copies of the book can be checked out at the Library.   The series continues on March 21 with Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein.