A must-read for all white people. This book challenges you to address how “not racist” you truly are and discusses what you can do to be a better ally.
Pairs With: A notebook. Zero chocolate. Focus on every word and reflect on your responses.
Overview:
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism is an important read for any white person. Even those who would consider themselves “not racist” have blind spots. This book helps white readers identify their blind spots and points out where improvements can be made.
White Fragility
The author, Robin DiAngelo, is an antiracist educator. After teaching enough classes, DiAngelo began to notice a pattern with how white people reacted when discussing racism. Often times the white people in the audience would become uncomfortable, angry, dismissive, or silent.
DiAngelo coined this response as ‘White Fragility.’
When white people talk about racism and are presented with information that challenges their views, they tend to become fragile. This defensive response is a problem because it hinders, and prevents, important conversations about race from happening.
DiAngelo points out that “bad” people aren’t the only ones who may be racist. Even when one is trying to be polite or caring they could, unknowingly, be responding in a way that feeds into the racist system.
Conclusion
There are 4.5 stars with 31,124 reviews on Amazon for this book. And honestly, it’s ironic that the ‘most helpful’ reviews are one-star… It seems some folks didn’t recognize their own white fragility.
Like all books, you do not have to agree with every point made but I recommend you give this book a serious try. Be prepared to challenge your view of the world and possibly experience your own white fragility.
Have you read this one? If so, what was your favorite part? Do you have any similar books you’d recommend? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
