"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and other Conversations about Race" is the subject of the Rosel Schewel Lecture in Education and Human Diversity on Thursday, March 20, 2008, 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Ballroom, Hall Campus Center at Lynchburg College.
Dr. Beverly Tatum, president of Spelman College and renowned authority on race relations in the classroom, and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?and other Conversations about Race (1997) is the guest speaker. A reception and book signing will follow the talk, which is free and open to the public.
The lecture is presented by the Lynchburg College School of Education and Human Development, Lynchburg Public Library, and the Friends of the Lynchburg Public Library with support from the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust and the Mahlon & Gerald Thomas Hutchison Memorial Fund of the GLCT.
Dr. Tatum's book was chosen for Lynchburg's community reading program, now in its seventh year. The community book discussion will be held at 1 p.m. March 19 at the Lynchburg Public Library.
Tickets to the Schewel lecture at LC are optional, but ticket holders will have seating held for them until 7:15 p.m. Tickets are available at the Campus Information Center, first floor, Hall Campus Center, or at the Lynchburg Public Library, 2315 Memorial Ave. Call 434/544-8381 for additional information.
Now in its seventeenth year, the Rosel Schewel Lecture in Education and Human Diversity is brought annually to the campus and community by an endowment established by Elliot Schewel in honor of his wife. The purpose of the event is to help educate citizens and focus discussion on a topic that is important to all.
Clinical psychologist and professor Dr. Tatum serves as the ninth president of Spelman College, the prestigious and historically black liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to taking the reins at Spelman, Dr. Tatum spent thirteen years at Mount Holyoke College as professor of psychology, department chair, dean of the college, and acting president. As a clinical psychologist, she also maintained a private practice during her tenure at Mount Holyoke.
Dr. Tatum's research interests include black families in white communities, racial identity in teens, and the role of race in the classroom. She is also the author Can We Talk about Race? and Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007). This most recent book explores the social and educational implications of the growing racial isolation in our public schools.
Dr. Tatum is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees from more than eight colleges and universities including Bowdoin College and Washington and Lee University. In 2005 she was awarded the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education for innovative leadership in education.
Dr. Tatum earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in religious studies from Hartford Seminary, and a B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University in Middletown Connecticut. She is married to Dr. Travis Tatum, professor emeritus of education at Westfield State College, and has two sons.