agriffin 's review for:

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

3.0

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I think this book has a lot of strong points but I do find the first few chapters a bit of slog if you have already adopted the systemic definition of racism. That being said, it does not hurt to have a reminder. I liked DiAngelo's discussion around the good/bad binary of racism and her attention to the emotional reactions we have around this view of racism that we have grown up with. I appreciate that she gives examples from her seminars and trainings and shares how she would address their challenges, concerns, etc. I highlighted quite a few of these responses to use in my own life and conversations. She also doesn't coddle her readers. She recognizes that we are raised in this system and we're going to hold inherently racists views and thoughts, but she puts the responsibility of unlearning and challenging these assumptions on the reader. The last chapter, where she discusses her own example of acting racist in her workplace, particularly resonated with me. She talks about all the initial, emotional reaction and gives an example of how to work through that and then address the individual who was on the receiving end. If you take nothing away from this book, is the idea that your Black friends and colleagues are not looking for perfection, they're looking for you to be able to talk about and repair the damage. And that is a sign of trust.