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.
