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

Published in 2018, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo received critical acclaim and became a New York Times Bestseller for explaining how white people should address racism in the moment and how they can move into a new, healthier, less racist paradigm. DiAngelo holds a PhD in multicultural education and specializes in critical racial and social justice education.

Plot Summary

DiAngelo stresses that all white people play a role in perpetuating white supremacy—and that it is possible for them to change this if they are willing to examine how underlying assumptions influence their behavior. DiAngelo presents a sociological analysis of white people’s emotional responses to racism, which she terms “white fragility.”

White fragility is the result of socialized beliefs about race, racism, and white supremacy. When white people’s racial comfort is challenged, they feel a range of defensive emotions, which they externalize through negative actions and behaviors. To combat white fragility, white people must first become more aware of their internalized convictions, and then actively teach themselves to respond differently in the moment.

DiAngelo’s book rests on analysis that positions her ideas in a historical and social context. She frequently reminds readers that individual white people have been socialized into an overarching system of white supremacy. Further, she alludes to the morphing, adaptive nature of racism—a phenomenon that demands a constant analysis of new presentations of racism in social settings. The idea of interrogating white fragility is meant to help white people unlearn their implicit biases and work against white supremacy.