White Fragility

Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

by Robin J. DiAngelo

electronic resource, 192 pages

English language

Published Dec. 25, 2018 by Beacon Press.

OCLC Number:: 1088664994

(13 reviews)

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.

In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). 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. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. source: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566247/white-fragility-by-robin-diangelo/

3 editions

phae reviewed White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J. DiAngelo

Review of "White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It's very good. I was defending myself and individualism in my own mind as I started reading it, and had all those defenses challenged by the time I'd finished, which felt like a valuable lesson in itself, if somewhat unmooring.

A couple times, I thought I'd accidentally flipped back a page or two, and was reading something for the second time but it was just the same story or point being re-written, so the editing could have been a little tighter for my tastes.

Amber Herbert reviewed White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J. DiAngelo

Review of "White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book taught me a great deal about why I perceive race the way I do and how I can change my perception of and reactions to racism and prejudice. In the current political climate (I read this during the 2020 protests), I am grateful to have found this work so I can grow as a person and help others who need support without saying or reacting to things incorrectly.

Daryl Ducharme reviewed White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J. DiAngelo

Review of "White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was an amazing book that all of us white people should read or listen to. It challenges the reader over and over again. Usually, I grow tired of books that repeat the same idea but from a different perspective. In the case of this book, it is necessary.