[[This is Isaiah Hineās high school presentation on white fragility. Youāre not going to get a simpler explanation, in my opinion, so if youāre white you should really read this. Below are Isaiahās notes on each slide.]]
Robin DiAngelo is a professor at Westfield State University and author of What Does it Mean to Be White? Developing White Racial Literacy.
Iām sure youāve all seen these ādefensive movesā in action before. āI didnāt mean anything by itā āI wasnāt trying to be offensiveā āI have a black friendā āNot all white peopleā
People are often more worried about being called a racist than actually doing something racist. In America white people often donāt even have to consider race. They often think of themselves as āracelessā white is conditioned to be the norm and everyone else is considered āracedā or ācoloredā. White fragility allows white people to govern when and how race is discussed. White people expect to be educated on racism, and in a nice way.
White people never learn as a result and are allowed to continue saying and doing racist things. White people prefer to hear these things from other white people but because other white people donāt know enough about racism, they cycle continues. When people of color do things like the BLACKLIVESMATTER movement, many white peoples responses were āall lives matterā this is white fragility. Proclaiming that black lives matter does not inherently mean that other lives donāt. This statement is made because society continually shows us that black lives donāt matter in america and these are the lives that need the affirming. We already know that white lives matter, it doesnāt need to be stated. White people are very used to being the center of things and when they arenāt it makes them uncomfortable.
Most people donāt fully grasp the idea of systemic racism and that we live in a racist society that perpetuates racist ideas. We are socialized into white supremacy.
blakekathryn
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