White Fragility: Why it's So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism
By Robin Diangelo
Genre: Non-fiction, Race, Sociology
Publisher: Penguin Books
Robin Diangelo, the author of this book, first invented the term “white fragility” in 2011. The term refers to a state of racial distress, a barrier of equality, aimed at maintaining racial dominance and ridding itself of any problems/inconvenience.
In DiAngelo's words, "Though white fragility is triggered by discomfort and anxiety, it is born of superiority and entitlement. White fragility is not a weakness per se. In fact, it is a powerful, means of white racial control and the protection of white advantage." The book breaks white fragility into different subcategories with each chapter explaining the underlying sociological phenomena. The author has a PhD in multicultural education and has been a race and social justice educator/trainer for 20 plus years.
Seasoning Level
CO2 | Salt | Pepper | Mixed Herbs | All Purpose Seasoning
The breakdown
The title doesn't lie, Robin Diangelo gets straight to the point of exploring what she describes as "white fragility" in the western world. There is no small stretches or warm-ups it jumps straight into a full-on long-distance run. The book is broken down into 12 chapters addressing how racism operates and the effects of it. Chapter 2 “Racism and white supremacy” is an interesting chapter and explains that race is a social construct. For me, part of chapter 2 (pgs 15-24), should appear nearer to the beginning of the book, I'm talking introduction chapter 1, because for someone who is not clued up about definitions of race, the social construct of a race, and the difference between prejudice and race waiting until page 15 could be a little too long.
Forreal Forreal
I appreciate this book though. I see it as a step in the right direction. I've read various books about race and identity. Mainly by Black females, and most recently "Brit- ish" by Afua Hirsch and "Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race" by Reni Eddo-Lodge, both equally important books sharing their experiences.
It was easy to read the book 'White Fragility' with an open mind because I was definitely intrigued to read about race and racism from a white person's viewpoint. The book layers historic events, moving quotes and unparalleled anecdotes to explain the here and now in society. I'd always found it puzzling that white people, with a limited number of exceptions, have found it hard to talk about race and racism.
I remember a white colleague being on the phone to a black rights activist and he was stuttering on the phone in the lead up to mention the obvious when identifying the man as black. I later asked him why he stuttered and he admitted that he felt uncomfortable saying it. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why.
I'm a realist and whether people like it or not the facts from history have shown that in order to push for change you need others on board, especially those that benefit from the unequal dynamic. A prime example being the suffragettes. Ultimately men passed the law that saw some women granted voting rights.
The book is written from an American perspective, but reading as a British person the issues are pretty much symmetrical. However, some parts of the book might require you to pause and do a little background research. I'm clued up on the Civil Rights movement but have a little zero geographical knowledge on the US.
Favourite chapter
Definitely, chapter 5, "The Good/Bad binary" simply because I learned the most from it. This chapter addresses how racism has adapted in recent years and why it is thriving now. For someone like myself who sees things in black and white * no pun intended* it was beneficial to learn about the many shades of grey in between what I thought was so clear cut.
For example, many thinking of a racist person conjure up an image of the KKK. Diangelo paints the image that when people think of racism today they imagine the white nationalists in Charlottesville, USA. To be likened or engaged with those acts is to be seen as being a bad person. Therefore, avoiding the behaviour of that extreme somehow leaves you in the good person category. Another strong part of the chapter is it discusses popular “colour- blind” statements used by many white people, breaking it right down to the core explaining how damaging and ignorant they are. After every statement, I found myself rolling my eyes and depicting each time this had happened to me.
“Focusing on race is what divides us” I also learned a new term called "colour-celebrate". I was familiar with the examples used but had never heard this specific term. I call this the Monopoly get outta jail failed card term. It is recycled so often and generically used when someone is pulled up on prejudice and/or racist comment. I present to you my favourite one. But... "I have people of colour in my family".
Yes, yes & yesss
The author putting her shortcomings out on the table, but also explaining the steps she had made to remedy the scenarios which I felt was extremely vital. In one particular scenario, Diangelo describes a joke she made about a colleague, during a work meeting when talking to her colleagues and a newly hired staff member. She told them “The white colleagues were scared by Deborah’s hair.” Deborah was a black woman with dreadlocks. And the new staff member, in particular, was left feeling really uncomfortable with the comment. She reached out to the person who was offended and listened to what had caused the offence and took steps to further her knowledge so she would not be in a situation like that again. People relate to others who are honest about their journey and the author admits that she is still on a journey.
The book also includes a large catalogue of research and study findings. The bibliography contains so much information for those that want to continue learning and reading about race and cultural experiences as well as past studies.
It hit me when
The book brought up a memory for me that I'd really tried to brush away. I remember going for an interview for an internship and feeling really positive. I had my hair combed out in a big afro and I felt proud. In the past, I tried to tame my hair in professional settings, but I left my house on this particular day feeling empowered. I met the person interviewing me, a white person, and I was really nervous. I experience intense social anxiety but I was also nervous because as it was my first potential work experience after studying. The interview went well, well at least I got the opportunity. But I remember feeling quite ashamed of myself.
About fifteen minutes after I met the person they asked if they could speak freely. I thought it was a positive sign and welcomed them to. I was told that when the person first met me I came across as having an attitude like I was giving them "my time and not the other way round". I'll never know for sure why but it never sat right by me. Reading this book and remembering my inner conflict when I got the role triggered me, making me feel very awkward. I would love to have gone back and questioned the person to make them spell out what exactly it was that gave me the attitude.
Length
168 pages including the bibliography and notes. The book was a little too long for me, mainly because more often than not things that were mentioned I was very familiar with, but I am also very aware that I'm not the target audience for this book. I'd recommend reading it chapter by chapter, as you need to read each chapter and then absorb all the information as it's not a light-hearted and fluffy sort of book.
Who should read it
Everyone... everyone can take something from this book. Anyone who is invested in society changing and moving forward in the name of equity. I would love to see this on the syllabus in the UK.
But especially those...
Who refuse to discuss race because it makes them feel uncomfortable being in a conversation that could result in them "being blamed for what their ancestors did" (I'm not kidding I've heard this wayyy too many times)
Ouuuu…
And those who comment under job postings that are aimed at encouraging diversity in workplaces, with the complaint that "the only people being hired these days for roles are people of colour".
You can't buy these EXAMPLES
So, I was out in public reading this book. A man peered over to view my book title, a white man. After he read the title he proceeded to let me know I was "scum" and a "bitch." I smiled internally whilst I tried to figure out how I could send him a copy of the book.
The BIG quote
“But race is the child of racism, not the father”
Kind of cheating, as it's not the author's but it's so powerful. It took me so long to really digest this quote. My understanding and what I hope this book imparts with the reader is that the social construct of 'race' was created to create a divide and a hierarchy but being curious about race and talking about it does not make you racist.
Have you read the book? And do you think it is important to discuss race?