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

by Robin DiAngelo

Not naming the groups that face barriers only serves those who already have access; the assumption is that the access enjoyed by the controlling group is universal.

But race, like gender, is socially constructed.

Consumers of these racist ideas have been led to believe there is something wrong with Black people, and not the policies that have enslaved, oppressed, and confined so many Black people.”

Race is an evolving social idea that was created to legitimize racial inequality and protect white advantage.

All humans have prejudice; we cannot avoid it.

People who claim not to be prejudiced are demonstrating a profound lack of self-awareness.

“Racism is a structure, not an event.”

When I say that only whites can be racist, I mean that in the United States, only whites have the collective social and institutional power and privilege over people of color. People of color do not have this power and privilege over white people.