White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

White Fragility

By Robin DiAngelo. Looks at the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people.’ Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. Examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. Read more.