What Does It Mean to Be White? Quotes

“There is a difference between agreement and understanding: When discussing complex social and institutional dynamics such as racism, consider whether "I don't agree" may actually mean "I don't understand.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Racism is a complex and interconnected system that adapts to challenges over time. Colorblind ideology was a very effective adaptation to the challenges of the Civil Rights Era. Colorblind ideology allows society to deny the reality of racism in the face of its persistence, while making it more difficult to challenge than when it was openly espoused.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“We have a deep interest in denying the forms of oppression which benefit us.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“If, as a white person, I conceptualize racism as a binary and I see myself on the "not racist" side, what further action is required of me? No action is required at all, because I am not a racist. Therefore racism is not my problem; it doesn't concern me and there is nothing further I need to do. This guarantees that, as a member of the dominant group, I will not build my skills in thinking critically about racism or use my position to challenge racial inequality.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“We see race as what people of color have (or are.) If people of color are not present, race is not present. Further, if people of color are not present, not only is race absent, so is that terrible thing: racism. Ironically, this positions racism as something people of color have and bring to whites, rather than a system which whites control and impose on people of color.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Because whites are not socialized to see ourselves collectively, we don't see our group's history as relevant. Therefore, we expect people of color to trust us as soon as they meet us. We don't see ourselves as having to earn that trust.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Putting our effort into protecting rather than expanding our current worldview prevents our intellectual and emotional growth.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Denying that race matters is irrational in the face of segregation and all of the other forms of obvious racial inequity in society. It is even more irrational to believe that it is whites who are at the receiving end of discrimination. Maintaining this denial of reality takes tremendous emotional and psychic energy.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Because it benefits us not to do so, we have a very limited understanding of racism.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“It has taken me many years of intensive study and practice to be able to recognize and articulate how I am shaped by being white, and this in itself is an example of whiteness (while there are exceptions, most people of color do not find it anywhere near as difficult to articulate how race shapes their lives.)”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Narratives of racial exceptionality obscure the reality of ongoing institutional white control while reinforcing ideologies of individualism and meritocracy. They also do whites a disservice by obscuring the white allies behind the scenes who worked hard and long to open the field. These allies could serve as much-needed role models for other whites.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“We don't have to be aware of racism in order for it to exist.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy

“Not having a group consciousness, whites often respond defensively when grouped with other whites, resenting what they see as unfair generalizations. Individualism prevents us from seeing ourselves as responsible for or accountable to other whites as members of a shared racial group that collectively benefits from racial inequality.”
― Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean to Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy