2005 Laureate
President, Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia
Tatum is recognized as the foremost authority on racial identity development theory. This theory, a positive sense of one’s self as a member of one’s groups as vital to psychological well-being, is proclaimed as a vital means to resolve multicultural issues in education and society. Her critically acclaimed book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, was selected as the multicultural book of the year in 1998 by the National Association of Multicultural Education.
Nominated by: Raymond Wlodkowski
