Beverly Daniel Tatum
American clinical psychologist, educator and college president
Clinical psychologist who applied racial identity development theory to schools and campuses. Her book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (1997) brought the theory to a general audience. She was president of Spelman College from 2002 to 2015.
Why this person matters
Tatum made racial identity research readable for teachers, parents and administrators. She built on William Cross's racial identity development model and on a wider body of research by other psychologists. Her later career in college leadership is part of the public profile of the work.
Main contributions
Racial identity in education
A 1992 Harvard Educational Review article applied William Cross's racial identity development theory to the classroom, explaining how students respond to race-related material.
Popular book on identity
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (1997) explains racial identity development and argues for open conversations about race, especially in education. The National Association for Multicultural Education chose it as multicultural book of the year in 1998.
Leadership in colleges
She was dean of the college and vice president for student affairs at Mount Holyoke, ninth president of Spelman College from 2002 to 2015, and interim president of Mount Holyoke from 2022 to 2023.
Context and limits
The book is a synthesis for general readers built on Cross's model, and the sources used here include no formal evaluation of its claims. The praise cited comes from an academy biography and a book award. Her birth year rests on a single reference article.
In your introductory course
Culture and diversity.Appears in culture and diversity chapters and in development chapters on adolescent identity. Students meet her as the author who explains racial identity development for educators.
Related course reading: Psychology 2e, section 1.3. This is course context rather than a biographical source.
Years of active work
- 1984
Awarded a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan.
- 1992
Published a Harvard Educational Review article applying Cross's racial identity theory to classrooms.
- 1997
Published Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
- 2002
Became the ninth president of Spelman College.
Sources
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Beverly Daniel TatumSociety or association. Institutional biography inspected.
- Wikipedia, Beverly Daniel TatumReference work. Reference article inspected.