White Fragility : why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

Locations
Call Number: 305.8 Di, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / DiAngelo, Robin
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	Due 04-30-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Di	4-week checkout	Due 04-19-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / DiAngelo, Robin	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / DiAngelo, Robin	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / DiAngelo, Robin	4-week checkout	Due 05-21-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / DiAngelo, Robin	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / DiAngelo, Robin	4-week checkout	Due 05-21-2024

Introduction -- Why is it so hard to talk to white people about racism? -- The process of racial socialization -- Understanding racism and white supremacy -- Racism post civil-rights -- How does race shape the lives of white people? -- The good/bad binary -- Anti-blackness -- Racial triggers for white people -- The result: white fragility -- White fragility in action -- White fragility and the rules of engagement -- White women's tears -- Where do we go from here?

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Fiction Profile
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Such an important read for white folks! submitted by TeacherN on July 26, 2019, 9:43am If you're on a journey to explore your whiteness, this is an important book for you! If you're just starting on your journey, you may want to start with a book called Waking Up White by Debbie Irving, or if you're a teacher, Crossing the Hall by Lori Wojtowicz, but this book should not be skipped! The author definitely points out our problems as white people, including her own, but she never tries to make us feel guilty or ashamed. If anything, she shows us how white supremacy hurts white people as much as it hurts people of color (though in different ways). I can't recommend this book enough!

Quick Read submitted by Gabirose on August 7, 2019, 2:37pm Unlike a lot of other books in the social sciences, this was actually quite a quick read. Just like eating your daily vegetables, I recommend it most to people who probably want to read it the least. It's not a lecture, it's simply informative and opens your eyes to some things you might overlook in your daily life.

Eye opening submitted by jessicampace on August 24, 2019, 4:34pm This came highly recommended to me by lots of great people. I found it revealing and fascinating and it really helped me figure out a lot.of my implicit biases and how to try to overcome them. Worth owning.

If Trump upsets you submitted by mowjac on October 23, 2019, 4:42pm Read this book!! If the 2016 elections shocked you, read this book! Such a well written, concise, no nonsense read on white people's role in racism and what we can do. If you want an American that really is "equality for all" , if you are a white American, please read this book.

Excellent book for personal growth submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 20, 2020, 3:42pm 5/5 stars. A million reviews have been written about how powerful, accurate, and helpful this book is for framing how and why white people can and should take a deep look at what we do that contributes to racism. It feels a bit redundant to add my own review.

Still, here is my take: this book is really good. In very clear and non-accusatory terms, the author explains why “I was raised to treat all people the same” and “I don’t see color” are different than existing apart from a systemic, institutionalized culture of racism. She asks questions that invite personal reflection, tells stories that demonstrate her points, and offers new ways to engage with challenging ideas. This book is excellent for personal growth and, after we’ve done more of our own work, for finding language to invite others. Highly recommended.

Very good, thought-provoking for White folk submitted by 21621031390949 on June 21, 2020, 5:25pm The book all Whites who are waking up to the BLM movement are starting with. It’s good, though I don’t recommend the recorded version (which I listened to through Audible), as the reader is pretty boring.

Important Read submitted by Meginator on July 6, 2020, 5:50pm Robin DiAngelo: White Fragility: 5
https://aadl.org/catalog/record/10383834
This book directly addresses white people’s general avoidance of the subject of racism, which all too often manifests itself in a form of extreme defensiveness whenever the topic comes up- a mindset that Robin DiAngelo refers to as “white fragility.” DiAngelo offers both a broad overview of the ways that US culture is inherently racist, constructed as it is on an implicitly white supremacist perspective, and specific examples of racism manifesting itself in all facets of daily life for both whites and people of color. All white readers will see themselves reflected in some of her many examples of defensive phrases and reactions. Though the book’s arguments can feel redundant, the repetition echoes insidious and often invisible (to whites) nature of racial conditioning in this country. This is an emotionally challenging book for white readers, as it asks us to honestly confront our own complicity in oppressive systems, but it is a must-read for any whites who are actively looking to understand and confront our own racism and who are ready to put in the hard work to create a more equitable, just society for all.

Great Insight submitted by Xris on August 7, 2020, 4:09am When I came upon her advice in the book, I had to quote it on FaceBook and then save it, so I can look at it over and over again. This book gave me great insight into racism and white supremacy, so I can try to work against it in my own life. Maybe I need to buy the book...

Important idea, iffy book submitted by mrajraspn08 on March 19, 2021, 12:35pm There are many articles, including quite a few written by black people themselves, about why this book is problematic and shouldn't be the number one book on racism. Rather than having a review filled with links, I'll sum up a few. One, it's a little surprising to me that a book written by a white person has become the go-to book on racism. I'd rather hear from black people themselves, but maybe that's just me. Two, the author discourages conversation, instead suggesting white people just shut up, and therefore missing a learning opportunity and the chance to actually improve and avoid further and broader instances. Yes, sometimes white people do need to shut up, but as a whole, we as an entire people need to learn to have conversations and listen. Three, it's been pointed out that the author regularly discriminates in her own book, giving blanket assumptions based on race. Should this book be included in race discussions, along with several other books? Sure, if just to introduce people to the concept of white fragility. Should it be the be all, end all that it seems to have become? No way. I'll end this review by offering an alternative, So You Want to Talk About Race?, which does much more for the race discussion and is actually written by a black person.

don't get the audiobook submitted by camelsamba on June 27, 2021, 11:10pm Lots of good content; lots to reflect on. Unfortunately, I listened to it as an audiobook and that was not a good format for me to receive this content - it was too difficult to review or mull over certain points. I got the impression at times that I was hearing indented bullet lists, which don't make a lot of sense as straight audio. Also, the reader comes across somewhat wooden.

Eye Opening submitted by caburr47 on July 17, 2021, 8:49pm It is an important read, that hopefully coming from the perspective of a white woman giving examples of perpetrating microaggressions and acts of racism both intentional or unintentional makes the reader comprehend the world and their fellows better as well as improving their behavior.

Be More Critical submitted by jibkidder on June 19, 2022, 4:03pm Diangelo is a corporate lecturer who has made a career out of encouraging awkward interpersonal interactions to help companies avoid litigation. Her book has been criticized for both dehumanizing and infantilizing African-Americans. If White readers were to follow her advice, at best they would feel better about themselves while having learned to act completely weird interpersonally with the Black people in their lives, without having addressed at all institutional, structural racism.

Necessary and of course not sufficient submitted by srlorand on August 14, 2023, 11:58pm An important book for anyone who wants to understand structural racism and common reactions of white people when the subject of race comes up. As a book rooted in social science, it does contain generalizations — backed up by evidence — that might not represent all the nuances of every individual person’s thoughts and behaviors, but that are not therefore invalid. Most white Americans will (or ought to) learn about themselves by reading this with an open mind.
And they — we — shouldn’t stop with this book. Try Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist.
Finally, consider the possibility that awkwardness may be un avoidable in conversations about race. If this book leads to some amount of it while raising consciousness, perhaps that’s not a bug but a feature.

Such an important book submitted by czadams on August 25, 2023, 1:23am Privilege is so challenging topic to discuss. This is a great book for discussion in multiple types of groups. Ice used it for book club with undergrad and graduates, and even excerpts for high schoolers.
It is very effective