Synopsis:
Groundbreaking book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when discussing racism that serve to protect their positions and maintain racial inequality
Antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo first coined the term "white fragility" in 2011, and since then it's been invoked by critics from Samantha Bee to Charles Blow. "White fragility" refers to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially. These include emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors including argumentation and silence. In this book, DiAngelo unpacks white fragility, explaining the underlying sociological phenomena. She'll draw on examples from her work and scholarship, as well as from the culture at large, to address these fundamental questions: How does white fragility develop? What does it look like? How is it triggered? What can we do to move beyond white fragility and engage more constructively?
In a nutshell: A white author, with years of being an antiracist educator and research, helps us white people understand white fragility and how we can combat it.
Published: June 26th, 2018
Format: Ebook
Number of Pages: 187
Finished: June 2020
Rating: 5⭐
Diversity: Working on being anti-racist?
My Thoughts
This is a beginner book on white fragility and why us white people can be so difficult in confronting our own racism and recognizing systemic racism and how deeply ingrained it is. I truly believe every white person should read this book. Sure, there are bound to be some white people who have studied racism and are well past the book but a good reminding never hurts because it is a lifelong battle. If one lets oneself become complacent any progress will be lost.
I also truly believe now that EVERY white person is racist. Please realize I am not attacking you. I am white and group myself in that too. Racism is so ingrained in our culture, our society, our media, in our silence, that we don’t even realize so much of it and are unconsciously participating in it. It isn’t good people can’t be racist, any racist is a bad person. It doesn’t work that way.
This is well researched, it’s frank and thought provoking. Please take the time to sit with it, reflect, and think. If it’s uncomfortable, good. Being uncomfortable is NOT a bad thing, it means you are being given the opportunity to learn and grow. No one is perfect, we all have room to learn, grow and do better. Always.
It’s not a long book but please do not rush it. I am talking to white people as this book won’t really tell people of color stuff they don’t already know and may be very triggering to them. White people though, need to hear these words.
It gives examples and tips. I highlighted some (and since I read it on ebook I made some of my highlights visible on here). Don’t be afraid to speak up against racism. For black people it’s life and death. It’s ok to be anxious and to say stuff wrong as we are learning and hopefully continue to learn, it’s not ok to be silent and to not try.
It shows how racism is held in it’s place and that we can and need break the cycles. It mentions it’s literally impossible to have a racist-free upbringing. It talks about several things and is accessible. White people, please read this book and reflect on it. It made me uncomfortable at times, but for that I am thankful because it’s necessary and means I can learn something. It’s better than the opposite.
The only negatives I could find is it’s a bit repetitive but I think that might be helpful to drill some things in, and every time it said “he or she” would it could have just said “they” and been more inclusive with less words bugged me, but don’t let that stop you from reading it. Every time I came across that I just made sure to re-read the sentence and take in what I needed too, because of how important it is. I will not be stopping here. I have so much more reading to do.
My Review on Goodreads where you can see some stuff I highlighted.
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