Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm

by Robin DiAngelo

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 while talking to a BIPOC person (and only when talking to a BIPOC person) • Blackface/cultural appropriation in costumes or roles • Denying/being defensive/explaining away/seeking absolution when confronted with having enacted racism • Only naming the race of people who are not white when telling a story • Slipping into a southern accent or other caricature when talking to or about Black people • Asking for more evidence or offering an alternate explanation when a BIPOC person shares their lived experience of racism • Making a point of letting people know that you are married to a BIPOC person or have BIPOC people in your family • Not being aw...