Changed the game by… helping teach America how to talk about race. Tatum is the president of Spelman College in Atlanta and an eloquent advocate for the importance of historically black colleges. She has pointed out, time and again, that even in the age of Obama, HBCUs are major engines of economic and academic growth in the African-American community. (In March, Obama signed an executive order encouraging federal support of HBCUs.) A clinical psychologist and author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Tatum’s work in teaching young women, delivering intelligent commentary, and pushing for open dialogue in not-yet-post-racial America, has made her a key part of an essential national debate.
