The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive
reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are
challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
In this "vital, necessary, and beautiful book" (Michael Eric Dyson),
antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of
white fragility and "allows us to understand racism as a practice not
restricted to 'bad people' (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive
moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility
is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by
behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn,
function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any
meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo
examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial
inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.