White Fragility
Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
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3.9 • 108 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
The International Bestseller
'With clarity and compassion, DiAngelo allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to "bad people." In doing so, she moves our national discussions forward. This is a necessary book for all people invested in societal change' Claudia Rankine
Anger. Fear. Guilt. Denial. Silence. These are the ways in which ordinary white people react when it is pointed out to them that they have done or said something that has - unintentionally - caused racial offence or hurt. After, all, a racist is the worst thing a person can be, right? But these reactions only serve to silence people of colour, who cannot give honest feedback to 'liberal' white people lest they provoke a dangerous emotional reaction.
Robin DiAngelo coined the term 'White Fragility' in 2011 to describe this process and is here to show us how it serves to uphold the system of white supremacy. Using knowledge and insight gained over decades of running racial awareness workshops and working on this idea as a Professor of Whiteness Studies, she shows us how we can start having more honest conversations, listen to each other better and react to feedback with grace and humility. It is not enough to simply hold abstract progressive views and condemn the obvious racists on social media - change starts with us all at a practical, granular level, and it is time for all white people to take responsibility for relinquishing their own racial supremacy.
'By turns mordant and then inspirational, an argument that powerful forces and tragic histories stack the deck fully against racial justice alongside one that we need only to be clearer, try harder, and do better' David Roediger, Los Angeles Review of Books
'The value in White Fragility lies in its methodical, irrefutable exposure of racism in thought and action, and its call for humility and vigilance' Katy Waldman, New Yorker
'A vital, necessary, and beautiful book' Michael Eric Dyson
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Robin DiAngelo’s treatise about confronting systemic racism may be an uncomfortable read for most white people—and that’s the point. DiAngelo, an antiracism educator, was motivated to write her book after noticing that many white participants in her trainings were unable or unwilling to talk about racism. She argues that this resistance is a large part of what keeps oppressive systems in place and lays out specific examples of the privileges white folks enjoy to the detriment of others. This incisive book is a necessary read for anyone interested in combatting racism.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Diangelo (What Does It Mean to Be White?), a race scholar and professional diversity trainer, delivers a thoughtful, instructive, and comprehensive book on challenging racism by understanding and working against what she terms "white fragility," the reaction in which white people feel offended or attacked when the topic of racism arises. She explains that the book is primarily intended for white audiences to aid in "building our stamina" for tolerating these discussions in order to challenge racism. Diangelo brings together personal experiences, extensive research, and real-world examples including missteps she herself has made, such as joking inappropriately about a black colleague's hair to demonstrate how entrenched racism remains a societal norm in institutions and white people's mindsets, including supposedly "colorblind" thinking and behavior. Her analysis effectively challenges the widespread notion that "only intentionally mean people can participate in racism"; rather, she explains, racism is "deeply embedded in the fabric of our society." She ends with a step-by-step blueprint for confronting and dismantling one's own white fragility to try to "interrupt" racism. This slim book is impressive in its scope and complexity; Diangelo provides a powerful lens for examining, and practical tools for grappling with, racism today.
Customer Reviews
Essential reading
Really essential self reflection for white people. Deducted a star because of the smaller scope that doesn’t include abolition - although I guess racist structures are made up of people.
Absolute drivel!
The basic premise of this book is that no matter what, if you are white, you are prejudiced. I read it hoping to learn something but was bitterly disappointed.
Skimmed the sample
Difficult to describe the self conscious piety apparent on every page.
After reading the word “white” numerous times in the first paragraph ( I didn’t bother to count) I got the gist.
I refuse to indulge in self flagellation or waste another few minutes of my life on this turgid screed.