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jessspress's review
3.75
Important to read; she's not wrong about much of what she writes. Did not like the feeling of being yelled at for the entire book.
alykat_reads's review against another edition
4.0
There is no allyship without accountability
Having already read White Fragility this didn't really add a lot that wasn't already in there. DiAngelo does give multiple examples of how she was the one perpetuating harm, even though this is her line of work. She also states her actions in response to those instances and what she will do differently the next time she's in a situation like that. I think something people get so hung up on about in the anti-racist movement is that "you have to be perfect or else you're a racist!"; which is just simply not true.
From reading some of the reviews, it's also pretty clear to some of the reviewers that there's still a lack of understanding between being a racist and doing and/or saying something that is racist. No one is ever done with being anti-racist. Everyone will always have to work at it. That doesn't mean that someone is always racist; it just means we need to be cognizant of the ways we perpetuate white supremacy. I thought DiAngelo has done a good job of distinguishing the nuances between these things, and regularly cites BIPOC who are also working in this field and have also provided this same information.
Having already read White Fragility this didn't really add a lot that wasn't already in there. DiAngelo does give multiple examples of how she was the one perpetuating harm, even though this is her line of work. She also states her actions in response to those instances and what she will do differently the next time she's in a situation like that. I think something people get so hung up on about in the anti-racist movement is that "you have to be perfect or else you're a racist!"; which is just simply not true.
From reading some of the reviews, it's also pretty clear to some of the reviewers that there's still a lack of understanding between being a racist and doing and/or saying something that is racist. No one is ever done with being anti-racist. Everyone will always have to work at it. That doesn't mean that someone is always racist; it just means we need to be cognizant of the ways we perpetuate white supremacy. I thought DiAngelo has done a good job of distinguishing the nuances between these things, and regularly cites BIPOC who are also working in this field and have also provided this same information.
thedeightonator's review against another edition
2.0
This book claims to be about how individual white progressives perpetuate the very racism they strive to destroy by being patronising and dismissive of racialised people. However when these claims come from this very type of person it becomes a bit hard to take in. Especially since a lot of the text covers the systematic racism that plagues our society rather than the casual and subconscious racism that the book is supposedly about. Admittedly the author does show humility at points to say that she can be a part of the problem.
This book is enjoyable to read as it very well written and concise for the most part but it lost me when Robin DiAngelo claimed that racism isn’t simply prejudice based on race, it’s actually a system created by white people to oppress other races - this means that only white people can be racist, people who aren’t white can only be biased. She goes on to say that when people debate this point with her and simply show the dictionary definition of racism she’ll rebut that with a claim that essentially dictionaries aren’t the be all and end all of finding a word’s definition. You know, those books that are there to tell you what words mean. This reminded me of a Stewart Lee joke where he debated someone and they fought back with “well you can prove anything with facts can’t you?”
This book is enjoyable to read as it very well written and concise for the most part but it lost me when Robin DiAngelo claimed that racism isn’t simply prejudice based on race, it’s actually a system created by white people to oppress other races - this means that only white people can be racist, people who aren’t white can only be biased. She goes on to say that when people debate this point with her and simply show the dictionary definition of racism she’ll rebut that with a claim that essentially dictionaries aren’t the be all and end all of finding a word’s definition. You know, those books that are there to tell you what words mean. This reminded me of a Stewart Lee joke where he debated someone and they fought back with “well you can prove anything with facts can’t you?”
louvree's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
it's a very informative book and got me thinking about a lot of things
freemajo's review
4.0
A great follow up to “White Fragility,” although the central thesis is one that is easily misunderstood to be hyperbolic if not read carefully.