In a moderated discussion with high school and graduate students, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum encouraged members of the Brandeis and Waltham communities to think about whose voices are heard in classrooms and what teachers can do to influence participation from diverse perspectives. The 2018 Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize recipient shared experiences from her time as a professor and explained the ideas developed in her famous book, “‘Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?’ And Other Conversations About Race.” 

Prior to the event, students from Waltham High School and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, one of the University’s graduate schools, submitted answers to questions posted online, helping to structure Thursday’s conversation about diversity and inclusion in education. Respondents answered five questions that asked students whether their social circles and classrooms were diverse and whether they felt that their voices were heard and their identities (such as their race, ethnicity, gender or sexuality) were validated in those spaces.

More high school students answered “yes” to these questions than did Heller graduate students. Tatum acknowledged that this seems to conflict with the Heller school’s self-image as a diverse teaching community. Speaking at the beginning of the event, Prof. Joseph Assan (Heller) highlighted a central problem the institution faces: In a group of students who each have diverse identities, individuals often “feel part but not really part of the community” at Heller.

In the discussion, Tatum often drew on the idea of what it means to have one’s identity “left out” or not included visually or thematically. She stated that everyone has many different identities, but value some of them more than others. “The identities that matter to us are those … that we are usually looking to have affirmed,” she said. When people enter new social spaces like classrooms, she said, they look to see if anyone who shares those identities are included and visible.

“Affirmation of identity starts with a very simple question: … Who is missing from the picture?” she said. Tatum believes that affirming identities through inclusion and visibility is a key step to building communities and cultivating engaging leadership engage “across lines of difference” — what she calls her ABCs of creating “inclusive learning environments.”

Tatum also encouraged students to engage with those who have different identities and life experiences. She made it clear that she understands why students often self-segregate along racial lines in the cafeteria — the image captured in her famous book’s title — because students want to relax with those who have similar life experiences.

To encourage students to break out of this separation, Tatum said, “Don’t start in the cafeteria. … Start in the classroom.”

For Tatum, the classroom is an incredibly important site for building these cross-group relationships. She argued that these relationships are formed “when people are brought together on an equal playing field and asked to do something collaborative toward a common goal … in an activity sanctioned by an authority figure.” Tatum explained that a sports team provides this structure, but she wants the same idea to apply to classrooms. Tatum believes that when teachers use their authority appropriately, they can create the same unifying environment as an ideal sports team has to foster inter-group bonds.

Throughout the talk, Tatum emphasized that “leadership matters.” She repeatedly stressed the power teachers have to promote diversity and inclusion in their classrooms.

Heller graduate student Evan Joy McLaurin recounted how she often feels that professors use students of color as “classroom resources” when they ask faculty to diversify the perspectives included on their syllabi. “We feel that we’re doing a lot of free work,” McLaurin said. She worries if she does not speak up, future students will feel excluded in the same way she currently does.

While Tatum encouraged students to raise questions when they see syllabi that contain predominantly white and male perspectives, she also said that “it certainly is not the student’s responsibility to do the homework of the faculty member” by fixing the syllabi themselves.

Tatum also emphasized the importance of what teachers say at the beginning of the semester or each class period to create inclusive class discussions. As a professor, she tried to create an environment that encouraged those who rarely speak in class to share by reminding the whole class to “share the airtime.” She also encouraged professors to begin class conversations by reminding the group that each student only speaks for themselves, to help students with different identities not feel as though they are speaking on behalf of their entire group.

“For people who are preparing to be leaders, understand that your leadership matters in terms of the kind of creative, … inclusive climate you can create if you are intentional about it.”