White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo.
I am trying to represent the ideas in this book in the best way I know how, but I encourage you to seek out this book. DiAngelo writes in a clear and easy to understand way.
Note: for clarity, when I say “us” or “we” I am referring to white people like myself.
All ideas are a synthesis of what’s in the book, which I highly recommend, and page numbers are given where appropriate.
Also note: Black is capitalized because in general (general, very fucking general), Black people have a shared history and culture; white people do not (you would capitalize things like Irish, Italian, French, which would be a specific group within the white) and besides, capitalizing “white” is what honest to God asshole white supremacist groups do.
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White Fragility by Robin Diangelo is about the difficulties we have when addressing white people in issues about race. Chapter by chapter, Diangelo takes her experience in diversity training to make the case that white people do not like talking about race issues precisely because talking about them damages the status quo that white people consciously or not are protecting at all costs.
She doesn’t mince words, and she doesn’t pull back from the premise that basically we live in a society that is comfortable for white people and uninviting to non-white people.
There is overwhelming white control of our major institutions: To that end, she lays out the following facts (which I have truncated just for convenience):
Ten richest Americans =100 percent white.
US Congress, US governors, US President and Vice President = 90, 96 and 100 percent white, respectively.
People who decide what tv shows we watch, books we read, news is covered, or music is produced = 93, 90, 85 and 95 percent white, respectively.
(There’s a lot more, I just did the top few. This is all on page 31.)
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“For many white people, the mere title of this book will cause resistance because I am breaking a cardinal rule of individualism—I am generalizing.” (P. 11)
Race is a social construct. There are no commonalities among Black people or white people that come about because of genetics or biology. It is entirely a product of societal conditioning.
This kind of blew my mind to realize it.
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“Whiteness” is belonging to a world that already accommodates you. There is no need to consciously assimilate. You already belong. Whiteness means freedom from having to think about how racism affects us. We can go wherever we want: race is not a factor. Example: going to a part of the country that is mostly white is something we don’t even think about.
I know the counterpoint: that there are parts of the city a white person can go to. Sure. Those are still isolated islands within an urban area. But there are no Black Majority states. (The closest you get is Mississippi at 37%. I looked it up. Number 2 is Lousiana.)
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Whiteness is assumed unless otherwise noted. When you tell a story about someone who is Black, do you note that in the story? What about when the person is white?
White Solidarity. Why speaking up about racism or speaking out about racist jokes or comments is shut down by other white people, thereby maintaining the status quo (white supremacy and control).
Personally…I see this every day. I am an introvert, and I don’t like spending a lot of time around people. I can’t say that I speak up about this much so I’m as guilty of this as anyone.
“Claiming that the past was socially better that the present is also a hallmark of white supremacy.” P 59.
A la peanut butter sandwiches. “Make America Great Again.” It’s the “again” part that makes it racist. It wasn’t so great for Black people, women, LBGTQ individuals, etc.…etc...
Other things from the book:
We are seen as “racially innocent.” We don’t have to take any risks to speak out about issues of race.
White people react negatively when you try to talk about racial experience as a white person. They will speak and try to discredit instead of listening and trying to learn.
“We are taught that we lose nothing of value through racial segregation.” –p. 68
We are conditioned to seek out the “better” (white) schools and tend to stick with our own kind…we don’t maintain or seek out friendships with people different from us. Remember, this is all very general.
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We believe racism is bad and racists are bad (they are! They really are!) and we think that we are good (Maybe!) so we cannot handle being called racist, even when the shoe fits. That assassinates our character. So, we focus more on defending ourselves than understanding how our attitude, opinion, action or spoken words may be seen as racist. We close our minds because in our heads, we are good people and can’t listen to anyone who says otherwise. Thus, the status quo (White supremacy and white control) is maintained.
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Racism is not a series of individual racist acts, but a system that is present in society, baked in to its fabric. The person who let’s something slip or looks around before making a racist joke may not be quite Nazi or Klan level, but they are also not that much different from the rest of us (remember, by “us” I mean white people).
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If I believe I am not racist, then I am not obligated to change my behavior. When you are unwilling to question your own racism, you support the status quo.
Having so-called “good” non-racist qualities that insulate you from charges of racism actually help to perpetuate white supremacy…
Racism is often unconscious. You are unaware of your bias, prejudice, and underlying feelings of racial superiority.
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Rather than ask: “AM I a racist?” how about asking “how am I helping to interrupt racism in this context? How do I know that I should?”
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Quotes from Ta-Nehisi Coates, who wrote the terrific We Were Eight Years in Power, a vital book for understanding the plight of Black Americans in the role of both building and then being subjugated by this country.
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Dissection of the movie The Blind Side Re: White Saviors of a Black man and many other flaws that are also listed in the book.
I remember hearing that Michael Oher was unhappy with being portrayed that way. I was always shocked that Bullock won an Oscar in such a mediocre movie. He does have a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens…
“The film is fundamentally and insidiously anti-Black.” (p. 98)
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This book throws cold water on white people. And to be honest, we really need that. Some people will fail to accept the premise that the US is still basically a white country, having been founded and forged on the backs of slaves and indigenous people.
No…no one wants to hear that. But it would be nice if they did…
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