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lady h's Reviews > White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
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I'm undecided as to how to rate this book. On the one hand, it's a fantastic first step for folks just becoming aware of racism. But personally, as a POC who has been engaging with these concepts for years now, I found it very rudimentary. Which I can't really criticize it for! It's meant to be rudimentary! But it meant that my reading experience was both quick and a little dull. Which is no fault of the book. I will say that I was introduced to some sociological concepts that I hadn't been familiar with, which I appreciated. But otherwise, it's Racism 101 for White Folks, and it's explicitly tailored to that purpose. And again: it's a first step. This is a short book that tries to cover a lot of topics quickly and easily. It's not enough, but it's a fantastic start.
What I will say about the book from a more objective standpoint is that I wish more examples had been included. DiAngelo focuses a lot on theory, which of course is important, but she also repeats herself a lot. I think a more useful approach would have been to talk more about specific examples of white fragility that she encountered in her workshops and break down the various problematic aspects. It was when she spoke about specific encounters that I was most engaged, and I think her points came across much more clearly when she used those examples.
So, overall, a great book if you're just getting started learning about structural racism, but also a good refresher if you're already somewhat familiar.
What I will say about the book from a more objective standpoint is that I wish more examples had been included. DiAngelo focuses a lot on theory, which of course is important, but she also repeats herself a lot. I think a more useful approach would have been to talk more about specific examples of white fragility that she encountered in her workshops and break down the various problematic aspects. It was when she spoke about specific encounters that I was most engaged, and I think her points came across much more clearly when she used those examples.
So, overall, a great book if you're just getting started learning about structural racism, but also a good refresher if you're already somewhat familiar.
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Reading Progress
February 12, 2019
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Started Reading
February 12, 2019
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February 12, 2019
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42.0%
"this is great and all but it’s basically Racism 101 for White People so i’m kind of bored 😬"
February 13, 2019
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read-in-2019
February 13, 2019
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Finished Reading
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Apr 02, 2019 12:01PM
Thank you for your reflective and thoughtful review. I haven’t read the book yet, but always sift through reviews prior to choosing my next selection; I find the 3 star postings often give me most food for thought. We are all at different stages along this path of learning, and it sounds as though this book is a wonderful opener, as you say. Much appreciated.
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Thank you for your review. I am a POC and agree with everything you have written. No need for me to add a review! Spot on.
Nora wrote: "Thank you for your review. I am a POC and agree with everything you have written. No need for me to add a review! Spot on."Oh thank you so much! That is high praise!
Hello,I am a person of color (POC for anyone who may not know the acronym) and can relate to a lot of the situations she mentioned in the book. For those reasons the book was a quick read for me as well, and many points she made seemed a bit like "duh" to me, but I'm a POC. She repeatedly mentions that POCs "have known this for years," and she is right. This book will speak little to people who do not have the privilege of living outside their color. But I have found it offers some valuable insight into what may be going on within any given white person--this is useful in navigating the minefields of caucasian emotion. Excellent review, anything more from me would be redundant.
What other books would you recommend that tackle this subject in a less rudimentary way?
Totally agree that more real-life examples from her workshops would have helped, and a larger variety as well.
you said it way better than I ever could, I agree 100% with all of this. I listened to the audiobook and some stuff was so repetitive and rudimentary...and even then I wish she did give more examples. The examples she did give were cringeworthy familiar that I've heard before or maybe in the past have said or done, but that's where you recognize reality in vague sociological terms. I'm sure I'm not alone in that being more helpful too (as likely a white person reading this book, no matter where they're at, is open to improvement and is looking for some kind of feedback on what they might be doing they could fix).
Thanks for the great review! As a white person, I certainly learned a lot. I suspected that a person of color may find it rudimentary because they live and breath these concepts every where they go.
Yup, that is how I felt.
Hey, don’t know if you’ll read this but I’ve been avidly anti-racist for years but am as always still learning. I ordered this book (hasn’t arrived yet) without researching the author and had assumed the author was BIPOC. Would you say it is worthwhile reading? I’ve also just read the N word is used a lot, by a white author, which makes me feel uncomfortable about reading it as this word does not belong to us. I’m finding more books by BIPOC authors daily and ordering those as well, but would you recommend reading it at all?
You just exactly said my feelings about this book perfectly! It was so repetitive for no reason. It felt almost like she was trying to meet a minimum word count. I would have loved her to start with "most frequent workshop feedback" or something and then explore each one in the following chapters.
Rebecca wrote: "Hey, don’t know if you’ll read this but I’ve been avidly anti-racist for years but am as always still learning. I ordered this book (hasn’t arrived yet) without researching the author and had assum..."Honestly, there are better books out there about unlearning racism. This was fine as a starter, but not something I would recommend.
The idea that this book might be rudimentary just shows how far we have to go. Scary!
Thank you for saying in your review what I’ve been struggling to articulate.
Totally agree with you. It felt very "duh" to me. (not saying its a bad book! Just wasnt exactly revolutionary for me)
My thoughts exactly! I would absolutely recommend this book for those just starting out on a journey to anti- racism but I found the book the be weirdly organized and very repetitive. I feel guilty giving the book three stars as I don’t want to deter people from reading it who need a 101 lesson, if you are looking for a deeper conversation, this isn’t it.
I would love to get your input on further reading.
I as well am interested in other books you recommend.
I started reading the book last week. I had a moment reading the second chapter when I cried. She mentions a court case Armenians won to be reclassified as white. I'm Armenian and my grandfather used to talk about that case. I have only ever heard other Armenians mention the case. She caught me off guard. It has me thinking about what it means to be white and why an ethnic group from west Asia fought to be classified as white. It's a book about the basics of racism but she has this Armenian asking hard questions.
Thank you for this review! As a Black person, it's exactly how I feel about the book, and honestly I can't even get through it because it's so repetitive.
I love your review. We are actually doing this book as a book club in our library. I do have a question, is there a book like this written from a POC author that you know of?
Yeah it was rudimentary, but it was all new to me! As a white guy, it was talking about things I’ve felt but never had a vocab for. It was very helpful. I also agree it was repetitive and could use a lot more examples. I kept comparing it to The New Jim Crow which was so logical and full of data and this was more theoretical and therefore less compelling. Still very helpful on a personal level pointing out blind spots for me.
Great point about providing more examples from her workshops - I personally found the examples she did provide to be most helpful when being reflective about my own behavior and emotional responses.
Probably too late but for those asking and others still looking, better books by POC / Black authors are How to be an Anti Racist, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race, So You Want To Talk About Race and Hood Feminism (talks a lot about education, housing etc still totally relevant even though it's based around feminism)
I agree with you. I am white, but have read other books about racism - especially books about how racism permeates law. (I am a lawyer so legal issues interest me). This book is meant to be a primer on the topic and, as a primer, it does a very good job. You are right that the author does not go into a lot of depth with the topics she covers, and that makes it a little dull or leaves the reader with unanswered questions. On the other hand, I have a lot of white friends who could benefit from such a book and I will be recommending it to them, as well as to my kids. I believe that is the purpose of this book - to reach a white audience that has never needed to think deeply about racism. I believe it achieves that purpose perfectly.
Sadly, white people like myself are rarely exposed to these topics, so the rudimentary nature is necessary (and even then, people who need this the most while probably never pick up this book). I work on a college campus, and while I've attended a number of diversity trainings, looking back, I can see how they perpetuated white fragility by trying to avoid making anyone feel uncomfortable. :(
