Status Updates From White Fragility: Why It's S...

Chapter 3 explores racism after the civil rights era. Though newer generations seem committed to equality, racism has adapted to such cultural changes. Color blindness, the co-opted idea that people should be judged by character not race, lets white people ignore the ongoing impact of race. Now subtler and coded, it attempts to avoid legal and moral consequences, yet pretending race does not matter changes nothing.

“Today we have a cultural norm that insists we hide our racism from people of color and deny it among ourselves, but not that we actually challenge it. In fact, we are socially penalized for challenging racism.”

Chapter 2 defines racism and white supremacy as systemic rather than merely the actions of immoral individuals or extremist groups. It explains how whiteness is positioned as the norm through policies, institutions, and cultural messages that shape access to power and privilege. The chapter highlights how this socialization is sustained through its invisibility to white folks who are responsible for dismantling it.