Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm

by Robin DiAngelo

Explicit forms of racism are not typically perpetrated by white progressives (although when cornered white progressives can and do erupt in straight-up racism, we don’t generally do so casually). Our racism avoids the blatant and obvious, such as saying the N-word or telling people to go back to where they came from. We employ more subtle methods: racial insensitivity, ignorance, and arrogance. These have a racist impact and contribute to an overall racist experience for BIPOC people, an experience that may be all the more maddening precisely because it is easy to deny and hard to prove. I am constantly asked for examples, so here are a few: • Confusing one person for another of the same racial group • Not taking the effort to learn someone’s name; always mispronouncing it, calling them something that’s easier to pronounce; making a show of saying it, or avoiding the person altogether • Repeating/rewording/explaining what a BIPOC person just said • Touching, commenting on, marveling at, and asking questions about a Black person’s hair • Expecting BIPOC people to be interested in and skilled at doing any work related to race • Using one BIPOC person who didn’t mind what you did to invalidate another who did • Calling a Black person articulate; expressing surprise at their intelligence, credentials, or class status • Speaking over/interrupting a BIPOC person • Lecturing BIPOC people on the answer to racism (“People just need to . . .”) • Bringing up an unrelated racial topic...