White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

 

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngleo (2018) 169 pages

White Fragility has started me on a journey that I don't think I can do justice describing. First, the definition of racism used by author Robin DiAngelo is different from what I expected. A white person, like herself (and myself), cannot avoid being a racist. Being a racist doesn't necessarily make one a bad person; it's an inevitable result of growing up white in our society. DiAngelo, a diversity trainer and consultant on racial and social justice issues, sees her own shortcomings even after working on this issue for over 25 years. She says it's necessary for whites to learn to move along the continuum to become less racist, a mission always in progress. White fragility is a force that tries to keep the status quo between whites and people of color. White fragility causes whites to become confused, defensive or indignant when our racism is pointed out. DiAngelo gives examples of behavior and words that a white person wouldn't instinctively know are racist, explains why these are racist, and gives us examples of how to combat our racism.

The book is well-footnoted, with good resources for additional reading.