Appointed to the Mount Holyoke faculty in 1989, Tatum focuses her work on race relations in America—particularly black families in white America, racial identity in teens, and race in the classroom. She has toured extensively, leading workshops on racial identity development and its impact in the classroom, and has published numerous works on race and educational issues. She earned a B.A. from Wesleyan University in psychology and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior to joining the Mount Holyoke College faculty, Tatum was an associate professor and assistant professor at Westfield State College and a lecturer at the University of California at Santa Barbara's Department of Black Studies.

Children Now, "Children and the Media"

National Network for Child Care, "Helping Children Deal with Differences"

Scholastic, "Helping Children Develop a Sense of Identity"

The National Academies Press, "Racial and Ethnic Trends in Children’s and Adolescent’s Behavior and Development"